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a box of roofing nails will time to time fall off a truck and cause LOTS of flat tires... or buy asphalt and make your own speed humps in the middle of the night..
a box of roofing nails will time to time fall off a truck and cause LOTS of flat tires... or buy asphalt and make your own speed humps in the middle of the night..
Check with your city roads department for what kind of petition you need to put together to have speed bumps placed on your street or if there is a bi-secting street, possibly the placement of a stop sign. They may also be willing to place "children at play" signs up.
In the meanwhile, as has been suggested, talk to your community police officer about getting an electronic speed detector/camera placed on your street. Municiplaities are low on funds and they might just appreciate being able to collect some speeding fines.
We had this problem in my neighborhood when my kids were little. We were in a residential neighborhood with a school that was attended by kids outside the hood as well, right near the intersection of the neighborhood streets and a main highway. I called the local police about the speeding. The chief of police told me to make it known to the neighbors that I had called the police and that they would be patrolling the neighborhood more, because the police found that the majority of speeders in any 'hood were the residents. I say, call the police and spread the word among your neighbors.
but it IS the topic of the thread - how to slow down speeders, not whether or not to let your kids play in the front yard.
And yet that was the post I was responding to. Weird ain't it!
To actually address a bit on topic, I live on a busy street with a speeding problem. We cannot put speed bumps or *anything* that slows traffic because the street is the major entrance to the neighborhood, and anything that would slow the speeders also slows emergency vehicles, and thus the city won't approve them.
They oddly feel it is more important that the emergency vehicles be able to get in and out of the division quickly than to force a few speeders to slow down.
The best thing I've noticed to slow them down is when someone parks on the street and leaves their front end just slight canted towards the center of the street. The speeders slow down to make sure they can clear. Perfectly legal and usually effective.
And yet that was the post I was responding to. Weird ain't it!
To actually address a bit on topic, I live on a busy street with a speeding problem. We cannot put speed bumps or *anything* that slows traffic because the street is the major entrance to the neighborhood, and anything that would slow the speeders also slows emergency vehicles, and thus the city won't approve them.
They oddly feel it is more important that the emergency vehicles be able to get in and out of the division quickly than to force a few speeders to slow down.
The best thing I've noticed to slow them down is when someone parks on the street and leaves their front end just slight canted towards the center of the street. The speeders slow down to make sure they can clear. Perfectly legal and usually effective.
I'm not so sure that's legal. Don't you have to park within a certain # of inches of the curb? There is also the possibility of damage to your car. YOU may be the one who gets the ticket, not the speeder (or both of you might). Talk to the police. There are other traffic calming devices than speed bumps out there.
I was... the neighborhood I grew up in, a neighbor of ours got tired of people flying down the street, one sunday i woke up and went outside and he had made crude speedbumps out of quickrete...
and we dug out the area near our driveways to leave about a 8-10" ledge, so if you wanted to speed and went off the road while doing so, you were out a tire or wheel... repeat offenders learned quickly
We live in a residential neighborhood, but there is a medical center on the street. It is not even far from the entrance to the street. I am the first house on the block, and I can see the medical center from my house. But people turn on to my road, and slam on the gas just to speed down to the medical center. It appalls me. Keep in mind these speeders may be parents too, probably going to their kids appointments! And we have kids on our street. Cops do nothing.They sit to catch speeders at the most ridiculous times, like sundays at 5 pm. When the center is CLOSED and my town is basically dead anyways. I have two young kids, and I fear some idiot hitting them one day when they are playing outside. Geez people, have some g'dam consideration! Is there anything I can do, besides just teaching my kids how to be safe outside?
OMG there was a craigslist post for Springfield, MO just yesterday saying the same thing. LOL
I will tell you what I told him... (substitute your state for "Missouri")
I am one of those unfortunate souls who always drive the speed limit. So often, I have people who are DETERMINED to pass me regardless of the fact that it is a non-passing zone. This happens on nearly a daily basis and I was very concerned that eventually, someone is going to be killed because of these morons who cannot bear to drive the speed limit.
Because of this I contacted the highway patrol on Kearney street and talked with the public information officer there. This is what he told me.
When you see someone breaking the law you need to get their license plate number and any other details that would identify the vehicle such as make, color, year, model, etc. If you can possibly see the driver, try to get a description of the driver too such as approximate age, sex, color of hair, etc. If you can get a photo or a video of the car, that would be fantastic too.
You can then go to the local police department, sheriff's office or highway patrol office and you can swear out a complaint against the driver. The law enforcement officer has no choice but to follow up on it, and if the person denies the accusation, then it is up to a judge to decide. The judge will set a hearing date and you must appear with any evidence that you have to prove your case against the driver. In most cases the other person simply will not show up, which is perfect, because he then has a warrant issued against him for arrest for failure to appear.
Usually, if you have a good case (with the date and time of the infraction, the type of car, a license plate number, etc.) the judge is more likely to grant the verdict in your favor. As you can see, if you have video footage, well, certainly the defendant cannot claim that he was "never there", and perhaps you can prove with a video how fast the person was driving (at least you can show that it was too fast).
This is a lot of trouble to go through but if you are really determined to do something about it then it should be worth it to you.
You can also buy those portable speed bumps and put them in the road during the shift change. I don't have a clue how much they cost or where to get them, but if you called the Missouri Department of Transportation and tell them that you want to buy some, I'm sure they can give you a contact. However, if you call the DOT, I would tell them that they are for private property rather than a public street, because if you tell them they are for a public street, they might not be willing to help you as much.
Best of luck to you. I hate speeders with a passion. They are totally inconsiderate as to the safety of other people. I hope that you find a solution to your problem.
I'm not so sure that's legal. Don't you have to park within a certain # of inches of the curb? There is also the possibility of damage to your car. YOU may be the one who gets the ticket, not the speeder (or both of you might). Talk to the police. There are other traffic calming devices than speed bumps out there.
It's not about sticking the car three feet away from the curb. It's about being next to the curb, but pulling the front end an extra couple of inches, leave the wheels turned a bit. The car is not in any additional danger, but it looks like it is further into the street than it really is. It's an optical illusion that gives the object a wider profile, causing the drivers to reassess their clearance, something they usually slow down to do.
Of course, if you don't think it is worth the risk, then don't do it, but it is one of the few ways a citizen on the street can help to control the traffic without any expense, petitions, cops, tickets, or confrontations.
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