How far could a smile go to keep you driving within the speed limit?

In the United Kingdom, it seems that they will try just about anything to reduce speeds and improve safety. The latest is a device called a SAM, or Speed Awareness Message, a sign that is being tested on a road where speeding has proved to be a problem.

It’s a very simple idea that is sort of like those portable displays that sit on the shoulder of the road and flash your speed. The SAMs add a little reinforcement. If a driver is going within the speed limit, the sign will flash a smiley face. If they driver is going above the speed limit by a preset amount, then the sign will flash an unhappy face. I guess it’s like the Mr. Ugh stickers used on poisons and other hazardous things to keep children from eating or drinking them.

As you might imagine, there are more than a few people who don’t think much of this idea. They feel that without something punitive such as a ticket from a speed camera to go with the image, drivers will just give them the one-finger wave as they pass by.

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There are those who think it’s worth a try, that positive encouragement can work in changing the behavior of drivers. It will be interesting to see what, if any, impact these smiley faces have on speeds. It’s more interesting to see how creative some communities are getting in their efforts to effect change.

NEW DEER-ALERT DEVICE ACTUALLY WORKS

In Burlington County, N.J., local officials are testing a device called the Wildlife Crossing Guard. The device is about the size of a brick and mounts on a pole near the roadway. When a car approaches, the headlights trip a sensor that activates the device for a short period of time. When activated, the device flashes a blue light in the direction where the deer might be coming from and emits a high-pitched whistle. Those describing it to PhillyBurbs.com say it sounds like a groundhog in distress and that is something to which deer are sensitive.

New Jersey officials say that in the area where these devices have been placed, they have gone from 53 deer-reported crashes to zero. I’d say they’re working.