GEEZUS KRYST!!! Hand me some LSD FAST! Reality is just, plain NUTS!!!

I wonder who is going to get sued when someone gets rear-ended after slamming on the brakes. If there is any significant personal damage resulting from the crash the two insurance companies will never pay without seeking some 3rd party liability.

Lesson: If you see a little girl chasing a ball in the street, don’t worry, keep driving.

awesome, so when drivers become immune to this because of steady exposure they’ll not react fast enough when a child actually does run into the street. This is six shades of stupid.

awesome, so when drivers become immune to this because of steady exposure they’ll not react fast enough when a child actually does run into the street. This is six shades of stupid.

Gee, couldn’t you depict the girl holding a kitten?

This is, indeed, a deeply disturbed idea.

what wunderkind thought this crap up?

Speed bumps work just fine. And better than rear enders.

fucking canadians

What happens to the psyche of people who live there and run over this little girl every day?

You’re onto something.

I’ve long been a proponent of kittens as fuel. They’re so prolific.
This could well be the propaganda device needed to convince the masses.

Why not just paint a fake barricade with the speed limit included instead of a little kid chasing a ball?

When I was 5 years old and my brother was 3 my mom ran inside to go to the bathroom, my friend from across the street was 7 and he was allowed to cross the street so he went home, when I looked across the street my brother was there. I looked both ways and no cars were coming so I told him to cross to come to me. He got more than halfway across, but a lady was speeding and came over the hill, IF SHE KEPT GOING STRAIGHT SHE WOULD HAVE MISSED HIM BUT SHE PANICKED, SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES AND SKIDDED IN TO HIM!!!!

WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO WHEN SOMEONE HAS A HEART ATTACK OR HEAD ONS IN TO A TREE SLAMMING ON THE BRAKES AND SWERVING????????????”

Eventually wont these people just ignore little girls running after balls thinking they are just drawings?

And raw again, how hard is it to read your headline and compare it to the story and see if it is accurate.

Does the drawing REALLY “run into the road”?

The very best of intentions gone horribly wrong!

Guaranteed to CAUSE accidents.

Relax, that’s advertising. It most certainly got you!

Idiotic!

Ask any behavior scientist and they will tell you that the biggest danger lies in regular commuters learning to “momentarily ignore” child-like stimuli in their visual field – instead of moving reactively to the brake without thinking at first notice of something unusual in their car’s path. That’s what you want -.go for the brake, then analyze to determine whether to back off it or not. With a few experiences, such a stimulus will cause them to hesitate and analyze first, before they go for the brake – because they’ve seen this spoof before. At 35 mph, you are traveling at 51 ft/sec and a half-second can be all the difference between hitting and not hitting something you notice at the last moment. Speeders, all the more reason.

Exactly – I posted before I saw your remark – but say the same. Sorry.

that’s why we call them “hosers” eh!

No thats bad journalism

What if drivers interpret a real girl as a mere painting they may safely drive over??
It’s not smart to get drivers used to driving over an “apparent girl,” IMNSHO.

Boy who cried Wolf

Question Reality

Too much stress. Imagine selling your car and getting a Horse. No more oil changes and a good friend to share your apple with. Organic Compost potential

As soon as a few drunks have confidently flattened a few real children I’m sure they’ll review that little policy and find it wanting. (Of course…the drunks will still be prison lifers, but as long as the state had contributed to the endangerment/death of minors…why not crush a few extra lives along the way.)

it’s an extremely lame idea… i’ve just about had it up to here with the relentless squeeze of technolgy all around me. now you’ve got to contend with a projection of a child darting out in front of your car for the few who forget they’re in a school zone. I saw a good one today, an ad for Mercedes. If your car wanders into the other lane the car will let you know so you won’t have an accident. well, if you find yourself wandering into other lanes often perhaps it time to hang up your car keys and start taking a taxi.

That is just wrong. The only thing that I see accomplished here is confusion and a desensitizing through the blurring of reality and fantasy. This is a stupid, stupid idea. They should have just painted a policeman off to the side of the road.

Brilliant idea, train drivers to drive over children.

Much better idea, IMHO:

http://vanillaseven.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/The-Cave.jpg

Well I wrote to the town and told my little story and they were nice enough to promptly respond.
I still think they are wrong but here is their and my reply:

—————————————————-

On 9/10/10 7:16 PM, “xxxxxxxxxx@westvancouver.ca> wrote:

Good afternoon,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your concern.

As an engineer we are challenged on a daily basis with problem solving … and some solutions are not in text books! To suggest that this project was undertaken with any sort of “reckless abandonment” is incorrect. On the contrary, an engineering rationale was considered prior to approving the installation of the 3D illusion. As expected, the question of “motorist reaction” was at the forefront of the discussion.

Following is the rationale which made this specific location a candidate for this project.
22nd Street in has a very good safety record. The number of crashes since 1996 (the earliest year for which we have records) is insignificant. This factor is important in that Engineering was aware of the potential for making a bad situation worse.
The road conditions on 22nd Street are very good. Sight lines are perfect northbound along the road and to the cross streets. The grade is positive in the northbound direction and thereby assists with the rate of slowing (deceleration).
There is a school zone speed limit of 30KPH.
There is traffic calming in the form of curb extensions in advance of the 3D illusion. With the traffic calming in place motorists are slowing regardless 3D illusion.
There is a STOP sign at the end of the block. Motorists are slowing in anticipation of stopping regardless of the 3D illusion.
Signage, both dynamic and static was installed on the approach to the 3D illusion advising motorists to “Drive Defensively” and “You’re not expecting a child to run into the road today.”
Police presence was requested on a daily basis.
A public awareness program was initiated in advance of implementation of the project.
Based on prior testing the 3D illusion appears gradually to the motorist. There is no “startling effect.”
Given the above, engineering staff were supportive of the concept and its implementation. On site monitoring of motorist behaviour has since confirmed the above. There has been absolutely no evidence of abrupt stopping or swerving by motorists.

Sincerely,

P. Eng., PTOE

———————————————-

I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to respond. Well I suppose you are convinced this is a good idea.
You say “There has been absolutely no evidence of abrupt stopping or swerving by motorists.”
Is this desensitizing them so their very first reaction to seeing this now ISN’T to go for the brake?
The next time they see a child in the street are they going to subconsciously think “oh right drawing”?
Someone suggested a barricade with the speed limit on it. I’d think something along those lines would be much more sensible.
Well, I certainly am no expert and have done no research but there’s something just wrong in my opinion about running over a little girl every day even if it is an incredibly lifelike illustration.
I respectfully hope you reconsider.

That’s how my brother died at 5 years old. Running out from between parked cars to get a ball that had gone into the street

Sorry. That is absolutely wrenching. Has to be a hell of a strain on your parents.

Other images might be ignored but most people are going to make sure this isn’t a real kid before they go go over it. Yeah I know it’s only a image. But what if it’s real this time?

Ah, but I’m guessing they’d never paint a policeman in the middle of the lane, because well, that might desensitize drivers and we can’t have that.

Seriously disturbing. Not only is there a chance of accidents from this image, but there is also a chance that people become desensitized to it, and are less likely to break when they see a real child in the middle of the road.

Yeah! A kid is going to get run down, and the driver will say “I thought it was one of those 3D thingies!”

That might cause a heart attack or two.

That might cause a heart attack or two.

Stupid idea. What if a driver swerves to avoid the girl, crashes into an oncoming car with a kid in it and kills them?

In Australia we have humps put in the road where traffic is supposed to slow down and if you don’e it wrecks your suspension so, guess what, it works. much better than trying to deceive people.

Yea we have them in America too, I suspect they might have them in Canada.

That’s right, morons, get drivers used to running over little girls with balls. “But, Your Honor, I thought she was a painting on the street!”

What if you had a functional brain.

Exactly. And when somebody does hit a kid that runs into the street they’ll claim they thought it was just another 3D image drawn on the pavement and sue the city.

This raises the bar for stupid to a new high.

Stupid idea – drivers will become used to seeing it, and not react… potentially leading to more tragic incidents; let alone the number of accidents that occur initially when folks slam on their brakes and get rear ended

Its a dumb idea. If the city wanted to change driver behaviour, then they could install road humps or they could create a drop off point away from the main road. Creating false positives is not a good idea as if might desensitize drivers to actual dangers.

Seems what they are suggesting is that American Journalism is failing to fully disclose things and using sensationalistic headlines to get a specific frame of mind created.

By the response you received, it seems _clear_ that it is “well posted” that the drawing is there, there are several mechanisms in place to slow traffic even without the painting, and it is _not_ being used to “startle people” (being well documented and advertised as well as having signs about it posted near it).

Journalism in the U.S., though, wants you to think this is controversial. If done “to scare” people (like our article implies) it is a horrid idea. If done in conjunction with a very visible and concerted effort to slow traffic and just used as a “novel way” to remind people WHY they are supposed to be going slow, it seems much less of a big deal. Perhaps the problem is the “one commenter online said it startled them”. Perhaps that one person is the only one who wasn’t paying attention to their driving and ignored all kinds of signs posted around it? Perhaps that one person was putting on makeup or texting while driving and “got surprised”? Where is the mention of comments from other online people, some of those that “praise the project”?

This is why journalism has failed in the U.S. Sensationalism instead of well presented factual disclosure.

if you read the comments, someone contacted the folks in BC who did this.. there _are_ speed bumps out there, and SIGNS warning of the painting in the road.

The headline on this story is the problem, not the actual image. There is no “running into the road”. There is no motion. And the signs and speed bumps (and increased police presence) are slowing people down, not panicked reactions to the painting.

No there are no “speed bumps”! The letter I received stated they had “curb extensions” which is simply a little grassy area at the beginning and end of parking spaces.

Speed bumps are the very best idea. Tried and true.

You are correct about American journalism.

However these people are doing the same thing. Rather than rely on tried and true well established speed bumps or humps and rumble strips, they want to experimaent with cool 3D elongated perspective drawings, oooo how cool…..SPEED BUMPS!

I stand corrected on the speed bump issue. I wasn’t aware of exactly what “curb extensions” are, I should have looked that up before I commented.

Gee what a wonderful Idea. How about traffic camera’s and start ticketing with double or triple the usual fine. 1 ticket and they hesitate to speed again. 2 tickets Insurance rates will increase and they won’t speed in that or any other zone again.

I would sue for emotional distress!
I was the second car to run over a truck driver on the Ohio Turnpike back in November 2001. He was crossing the highway to exchange toll tickets with another trucker going the opposite direction to save money. (They do not check which direction you were going, so they were trying to save money by getting off the exit before the other driver got on)
I can not even begin to explain the nightmares I had for YEARS after that! I could not even get near that car without freaking out about something reaching from underneath. Talk about a nightmare! I had to sell it after they replaced the whole under carriage. I can still hear the 911 Operators voice and everything that played out in my head anytime I think about it. If it were not for my teenage daughter… I would not have been pushed to get back on the road and drive as quickly as I did. Mind you it was about a year before I could get on any highways without hallucinating…… but STILL to this day…. every once in awhile if there is something on the road.. or on the side of the road…. I get hallucinations and panic attacks.
I would sue this city for everything they have got! Who the heck thought this was a good idea? What if a 80 yr old woman/man saw this and had a heart attack from the stress of it while driving?
It’s not a good idea… it’s not funny in ANY regard…. and it is not something a rational person would decide to do while ignoring or trying to justify ANY of the possible ramifications!

Ever hear about the boy who cried wolf?

This is the dumbest thing since mayonnaise was discovered up yonder – A.K.A SNAFU IN CANADA!

[...] 3-D Image of Girl/Traffic Calming [See: RawStory.com] [...]

[...] 3-D Image of Girl/Traffic Calming [See: RawStory.com] [...]

I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this post. I am hoping the same best work from you in the future as well. In fact your creative writing abilities has inspired me to start my own BlogEngine blog now. Really the blogging is spreading its wings rapidly. Your write up is a fine example of it.

Excellent site. Very helpful, looking forward to your feed updates…

Nice information. I appreciate your effort, you describe the topic very well

I am new to your blog and just spent about 1 hour and 30 minutes reading. I think I will frequently visit your blog from now on. I will definitely learn a lot from them.

Either Position,prisoner agency top border possibility social sufficient paper version dead creation new belief her clear increased launch traditional approach wash standard reason difficult expenditure pull push data list same sky whom finance rapidly star effective just narrow signal listen wonderful persuade ball user committee learn organization damage trade court pressure mental nuclear every ticket let world national withdraw positive copy capable once route double doctor including appointment them head clear president activity date rely choose add religion over burn increased shut collect thanks