Speeders flagrantly disregarding the presence of Coquitlam city hall, pedestrians, posted speed signs and the nearby RCMP station will slow down for a metal cutout of a police officer holding a radar gun, a police pilot project has found.
It’s a mystery, but a good one for Coquitlam RCMP, and the so-called Const. Scarecrow will now be deployed throughout the city wherever speeders are disregarding the law.
“I find myself slowing down, which is ridiculous because I helped put him up,” commented. Cpl. Michael McLaughlin — who, for the record, doesn’t speed but is religious about sticking to the posted speed limit.
The life-sized metal cutouts were placed at several locations including Pinetree Way and Burlington Drive over a three month period and results from the Town Centre area deployment show the speed reduction method works, police say.
The number of cars 10 kph over the speed limit dropped from 5.2% when there was no metal cut out of a cop, to 2.5% during the first week of deployment and 2.6% during the second week when the metal man was in place.
Even more dramatically, the BlackCat speed monitoring system that recorded the statistics found that there were 18 speeders driving more than 30 kph over the speed limit without the cutout. That number dropped to four speeders over 30 kph in each of the two subsequent weeks with the cut out.
“It’s another tool in the traffic enforcement tool box,” McLaughlin said.
The project has now been extended a year and McLaughlin said the police are getting requests for Const. Scarecrow from people upset with speeding in their neighborhood.
“The public really cares,” McLaughlin acknowledged.
Several of the cut outs have been made at Coquitlam city hall and the heavy guage metal can withstand all weather. They stand about six feet high and will be used along with traditional traffic enforcement, including radar.
