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Agree with @zenith32. Did some reading up a while back when debating someone about speed humps to slow people down. I was against them, they're a huge headache if you actually live in the neighborhood where they are installed. Anyway, different studies showed that the most effective way to slow people down is by changing the landscape. It's been a while so I'd have to look the reference up again. However, the gist of it was people tend to slow down when lanes become narrower, or sight is slightly limited via trees or bushes. In other words, someone is less likely to drive fast through clearly marked divided lane lined with trees/bushes, than a wide open unmarked lane (or one with wide shoulders) with long sight distances.
I'm not sure what you're legally able to do, but you may be better off investing on a beautification project that changes the landscape to encourage slower driving.
On rural roads, an effective (and cheap!) way to slow down drivers is to leave the roads narrow and bumpy. So-called road improvements make people drive faster, regardless what the speed limit signs say.
In towns or areas of shops or many houses, adding landscaped medians and eliminating any more than two lanes (one in each direction) also has the effect of making the road feel like it should be driven more slowly. Actual, consistent ticketing helps, too.
On rural roads, an effective (and cheap!) way to slow down drivers is to leave the roads narrow and bumpy. So-called road improvements make people drive faster, regardless what the speed limit signs say.
In towns or areas of shops or many houses, adding landscaped medians and eliminating any more than two lanes (one in each direction) also has the effect of making the road feel like it should be driven more slowly. Actual, consistent ticketing helps, too.
While neglecting road maintenance may slow some cars, people who want to speed will probably speed anyway and it's a pain in the butt for everyone else, as well.
One house that I pass by regularly has a small sign that says "Please Drive Like Your Kids Lived Here."
One thing to be aware of, since you live in Vermont and the road is a state road - signage of any kind is frowned upon, and can even be illegal. It started with the anti-billboard law and went from there.
I'll tell you what immediately came to mind though
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Originally Posted by VAF84
Agree with @zenith32. Did some reading up a while back when debating someone about speed humps to slow people down. I was against them, they're a huge headache if you actually live in the neighborhood where they are installed. Anyway, different studies showed that the most effective way to slow people down is by changing the landscape. It's been a while so I'd have to look the reference up again. However, the gist of it was people tend to slow down when lanes become narrower, or sight is slightly limited via trees or bushes. In other words, someone is less likely to drive fast through clearly marked divided lane lined with trees/bushes, than a wide open unmarked lane (or one with wide shoulders) with long sight distances.
I'm not sure what you're legally able to do, but you may be better off investing on a beautification project that changes the landscape to encourage slower driving.
I don't know about speed bum/humps. We have five of them on a windy hill nearby, and I remember one time I had the grandkids in the car they enjoyed them and both were yelling "faster!" Since then I do enjoy going over them in my truck, but don't slow down (it's 25 there, I stay at 25).
A small town shouldn't have that much traffic which is one of the reasons people move there. If that's the case then speed bumps and law enforcement presence using speed measuring equipment from laser to aircraft is warranted.
One very small town I lived in only had soft surface roads when I arrived. Traffic speed was generally low. 14 years later state DOT got funding to pave the one main arterial. The immediate result was a significant increase in traffic speed, fender benders, and other accidents. The more frequently the town graded the soft surface roads the faster people drove on them. Which damaged the roads, requiring even more repair. If they didn't grade them so often traffic slowed down which resulted in less frequent repair. Sure, more people whined about potholes but it was actually self-limiting in terms of speed. There's an added bonus of increased resident camaraderie commiserating about the roads.
Last edited by Parnassia; 06-23-2021 at 04:44 PM..
Our city installed traffic calming circles, sort of like roundabouts but smaller.
Then we also have solar powered radar signs that warn when you are speeding. These are both fairly inexpensive one-time investments with minimal maintenance costs.
Thanks Hemlock....I'm not sure I've ever seen that particular speed limit sign with the 'your speed' above it. That could definitely work. Not sure if the circle would work but this is going on my list, too.
Thank you!!!
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