Vancouver's New Speed Bumps: Little Children

Source: Good

The city of Vancouver will release a new brand of speed bump that uses an optical illusion to keep drivers alert. A painting of a child on pavement (photo above) will appear to be three dimensional when cars get within 100 feet of it, giving the drivers enough time to slow to a stop. Once the cars pass the ideal viewing distance, the image returns to its two dimensional form.

What do you think? Will this be effective?

Tags: Bumps, Children, Little, New, Speed, Vancouver

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by April on September 9, 2010 at 11:26pm

Here's the video of the speed bump in action...

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Hudson Silva on September 11, 2010 at 10:13pm

I think it may be necessary to get a little too close to see it's tree-dimentional form at night or under other adverse conditions like fog, for example.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by H R Ingram III on September 10, 2010 at 6:47am

It'd sure scare ME into slowin' down!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Red on September 10, 2010 at 2:15pm

Eww...I don'r like this. I feel the same way about this as I do about not making kids' medicine taste like candy: there's a reason it's bad.
I do think it's pretty creative though. Until people get used to it and ignore a real kid in the street, mistaking it for a painted one.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Twilla on September 11, 2010 at 5:01am

Oh, I dunno. If they had an animal image there instead, I think I'd be just as prone to avoid it even after getting acclimated to the speed bump. Since most people think highly of children, this might be the same thing for the 'normal' populace. ;)

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kevin on September 10, 2010 at 2:17pm

I believe in Death Race 2000 children were worth a lot of points. Might make me speed up.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by sAm on September 10, 2010 at 5:19pm

DEATH RACE 2000!!! Nice!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rachel on September 11, 2010 at 5:22pm

this is gonna cause a lot of accidents i think

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Amy Wong on December 12, 2010 at 9:24pm

Yeah. I know what you mean. Imagine if the driver is tired, or it was raining hard and couldn't see the road very well. The driver, who never seen it before and is driving fast, might think it was real, and he/she might swerve just to avoid the painting and may crash into another car or worse!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by James Kay on December 12, 2010 at 5:13am

Very dangerous and very stupid. It's like crying wolf! Get drivers used to the idea that what appears to be a child really might not be?

How stupid can they get?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ken Connor on December 12, 2010 at 9:36pm

I agree this could be very dangerous. I wouldn't want to be following someone & all of a sudden they see this, & slam on their brakes., or go into another lane trying to swerve to avoid a child. Also, once people get used to this, they think every time they see a child, that it's just one of these illusions, & they just ignore it, & end up hitting a real kid. It doesn't seem like this was thought out very well............