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Optical illusions to be used as speed bumps


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Optical illusions are to be painted onto city streets in the United States in an effort to slow traffic.

The images will appear as 3D barriers to oncoming motorists, although the road is completely flat.

The fake speed humps are being installed at 100 junctions around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as part of a campaign against aggressive driving.

"The goal is to change the mindset," said Philadelphia’s chief traffic engineer Charles Denny.

"The driver sees this in the roadway, and they think that it’s some protrusion up out of the roadway, and not a perfectly flat surface. So they slow down before they drive over it."

Accident data will be collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to see if the pioneering scheme actually does make the roads safer.
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69 responses // Optical illusions to be used as speed bumps

  • watch this comment being used here, here and here
    eventually people will no longer slow down...
    jade_azul16
    1 response to this
  • That's awesome. Now if the US would only start using roundabouts instead of stupid, VERY unsafe traffice lights...
    onechance
  • They should tell people though, then they will know it's not real. They should keep it a secret that its just an optical illusion.
    Swiyyah
  • I can see this being very bad. If people don't know what is going on they may try to not hit them by going into another lane. If they do know what they are then they will not slow down. I hope I am wrong and it all works out but I have my doubts.
    gylu
  • i can see people memorizing what they look like or where they are and just ignoring them.

    and if something in the road that looks like it is real...it could cause some trouble.

    clever idea though.
    MissAmanda
  • ......we're putting illusions on the road - how safe is that? People will be twisting their heads off to understand what the hell is going on.
    ipodrulz
  • well they 'look' pretty dangerous so wont people like swerve out of the way and make other accidents
    R7
    • R7
    • 3 months ago
  • My brain just exploded.
    Scott_Bromley
  • How well will this work at night?, and what about pedestrians?
    ApexPredator
  • I bet more than anything a pothead created this. It sounded really good to him while he was high, as I can admit that it will sound good to me after a blunt.
    cerealforeal
    2 responses to this
  • watch this comment being used here, here, here, here, here, and here
    The first person to claim they swerved to avoid one of these things and get into an accident is going to win a fair amount of money in court. Hmm, where exactly is this again? :)

    This is a really bad idea. Really bad.
    meanaverage
  • Great, Now we can have optical illusory fast food restaurants, for example, create the illusion of a White Castles but when fat people walk inside it'll actually be a health food store!!! Brilliant!
    Mobius2012
    2 responses to this
  • i just hope they don't freak out because it looks like something sharp and pointy...
    antifence_sitter
  • we'll see what happens here. Cause i know alot of people who wouldnt change after they knew it wasnt real.
    sagewho
  • Drivers not trusting whether objects in the road are real is a good thing? What a terrible idea.
    junkscience
  • i can see this will kill some cyclists.
    troyka
  • eh, survival of the fittest, right?
    aswift1
  • Thanks for reporting it, I will now not slow down if I see it.

    At least make the illussion really look like a speed bump. I mean, what the hell is that? The reflection map is all wrong; what if the sun is on the other side? It just looks like grafitti. When I see things like that I actually aim my tire for it! =P
    telekinesis
  • ...Once they recognize the optical illusion is just that, an illusion, the street will get worse. What's so wrong with the traditional speed bumps, anyway?
    ShadesOfInsanity
  • maybe it will just cause more accidents
    lizzieism
  • So
    I was driving down a street in Phili right?

    Suddenly i see this thing protruding from the road, so I swerve. And shit wouldn't you know, I hit someone.

    Peoples intinct when they see an unexpected opbject in the road is not to slow down, its to swerve, especially if they're an aggressive driver.

    This is a terrible idea.
    cwc_agent
  • what the hell is wrong with the real speedbumps!?
    Alanisnotcool
  • I bet it was developed by the ACME company to slow down Roadrunners and Bugs Bunny right?
    Argon18
    2 responses to this
  • It begs the question: if the driver doesn't slow down and ends up getting a ticket, is it a real ticket, or just an optical illusion?
    Sparky58
  • the US does have roundabouts, just very small ones. and for those driver who don't know how to yeild and merge, it just becomes a nightmare.

    clever idea, but will get old unless they change the size, shape and color of them randomly
    jaxgrfx
  • And in other news, there has been a sharp incline in rear end auto accidents. No one knows the reason for this sudden spike, but authorities suspect it could have something to do with an alien invasion. Our own Julie Sanooty investigates.
    Neghie
  • They should make them look like people. Or pits with crocodiles.
    arturogarza
  • Good in theory, but some sort of sign could be used instead. "Slow down, the cops are hiding in the bushes!"
    handshakeheartbreak
  • Make them look like spike-strips or Claymore mines.
    Dmitri_Molotov
  • its gonna be funny when people get used to it and then they really put real speed bumps and someone flys over one
    DonPatch
  • Serves people right if they hit someone. SLOW DOWN then you wouldn't feel the need to swerve.

    If that's your first instinct to swerve then you are not a bright driver in the least.
    J_Jammer
  • Fast forward to people disregarding real objects in the road that they dismiss as 'optical illusion' speed bumps. Bad idea.
    sindlinger
  • wouldn't have to be replaced over and over again due to tire marks and such?
    Skut
  • we all hate speed bumps. and now we will all certainly hate these future space bumps.
    Colonial_Zombie
  • A law suit waiting to happen...
    ReelRecognizeReal
  • yeah tell people its a fake, great idea. unless the real speed bumps look like that, they are wasting taxpayers money...
    diode
  • i saw a similar thing on stumble , it was a laminated 3-d
    pothole to put in front of your street, pretty ingenious!
    GrandPoohBob
  • used in conjunction with killer laser beams, and not as a stand alone technology , i see some potential here - as in , you'd see a 3d sign saying "slow down or be rendered into free floating particulate matter " , and then , if you were too drunk to get the message , a killer laser beam would be let loose on you .
    malathion
    1 response to this
  • yea, i don't see this ever working the way it was designed to. it's true, people will eventually get used to them and ignore them, just like that do stop sign nowadays. how much are they planning on spending on this project? thats our tax dollars being wasted....
    blue_blooded
  • This is good for big cities with lots of tourist.
    pigmonkey
  • really...who slows down for speed bumps anymore?
    SilenceNoMore
  • start with optical illusions, then install the real thing, so people who ignore them wreak their cars.

    Ok im just kidding on that one but real