Of Flying Monkeys and DIY Traffic Signs
Reader Shasha sends in this great example of merging property rights with some home-made driver beahvior modification. Considered it entered in the new MUTCD — the Manual of Unofficial Traffic Calming Devices.
Shasha’s rationale was as follows:
We live on a small and relatively quiet road. The speed limit on our road should be 40 (curves, narrow, and hills). However, like all county roads in our county, the speed limit is 55. This means that people actually attempt to go 55 or faster.
I have spoken with our local authorities about putting up signs that state “Slow, Children at Play.” It seems that those signs are no longer legal to use, as it indicates that children have permission to play in the road. Hmmmm.
So, I decided to put up signs on my own land. I figure if they are funny and memorable, people may think and slow down. Or, if nothing else, they will slow down simply to see the signs. This sign (Watch for Flying Monkeys) comes from a picture I took of SuperS who was swinging from a rope in the front of our house. Yes, he appeared like a monkey. I thought it would be perfect. With a little design magic, I created a sign and posted one on each side of the road — as people approach our house / driveway.
I’m not sure it’s emotionally intelligent signage however, as it asks us to have empathy for flying monkeys, a creature few of us have seen.
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This entry was posted on Friday, June 5th, 2009 at 2:40 pm and is filed under Traffic Culture, Traffic Signs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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June 8th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
You write, “it asks us to have empathy for flying monkeys, a creature few of us have seen.” Hah! Everyone has seen “The Wizard of Oz”!