If you’re like most drivers, you probably pay scant attention to speed limit signs. While some authorities react by adding radar traps, a rural Wisconsin community is trying another approach with a sign that adds a decimal point. But it’s not the first to try this unusual approach, reports Headlight.News.
Wisconsin’s little Outgamie County has a big waste and recycling center and motorists have a tendency to put the pedal to the metal when driving through the facility, something that worries country officials.
Research reveals we’re a nation of speeders, all too often ignoring posted limits unless we see a radar trap ahead. But officials at the Outagamie County Recycling and Solid Waste center wanted to find an alternative way to get visitors to slow down.
The approach they came up with? New signs advising motorists the speed limit is 17.3 mph. “It makes you look twice. And most importantly, it breaks that ‘autopilot’ feeling we can all fall into when driving familiar routes,” officials said in a post on Facebook.
A nation of speeders
Various studies have found as many as 90% of American motorists admitting to breaking the speed limit at various times. And, if anything, research by the Federal Highway Administration and others show we’ve actually gotten worse when it comes to obeying speed limits since the COVID pandemic struck.
Authorities have tried all manner of tricks to get us to slow down, including radar traps, speed cameras and speed bumps. But “American drivers are divided on anti-speeding measures as a majority say they typically exceed the speed limit when driving,” reports website CivicScience.com.
With speeding involved in an estimated one-third of U.S. traffic fatalities, the search for a more effective remedy is taking some interesting twists. One approach, borrowed from Europe, uses speed cameras linked to red lights. Instead of issuing tickets, the cameras turn traffic lights to red when a car exceeds the speed limit, indirectly forcing drivers to slow down.
Catching your eye
But Outgamie officials are hoping the sheer oddity of a speed sign with a decimal point will have an effect.
Courtesy KMGH-TV
“With so much activity, staying alert is key to keeping everyone safe,” the Facebook post added. “We want every single person to have a safe visit and make it home at the end of the day.”
The reaction has been upbeat, at least online – though the county hasn’t reported on how much traffic has slowed down.
“Whatever you do DO NOT do 17.4 or the gonna on yo tail !!” said one Facebook comment. “Worked last weekend when i was there made us laugh,” wrote another. But one comment questioned whether the county was simply looking for a way to raise more revenue through traffic fines.
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Not the first oddball speed limit
This isn’t the first time authorities have tried using oddball speed limits to catch motorists’ attention. Scan the web and you’ll find reports of communities posting signs marked 12-1/2 mph and, in Trenton, Tennessee, 31 mph.
In that case, the odd number was the result of a compromise between the town’s mayor and alderman who debated whether to mark one particular road 30 or 35 mph. At the University of Mississippi, the limit on one main street through campus was set to 18 mph to honor the uniform number of former school quarterback Archie Manning. It was later changed to 10 mph when his son Eli won the Superbowl.
Private property owners have also tried the humorous approach. A number of resorts have posted oddball speed limits and a parking lot in suburban Chicago has a sign setting speeds at 6-7/8 mph.
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