Will South Dakota Highways Start Using Decimal Points on Signs?
South Dakotans are used to wide-open roads and predictable speed zones. But what if you pulled into your neighborhood and saw a sign that demanded exactly 17.3 miles per hour? Most residents of the Mount Rushmore State would rightly say, 'That would NEVER happen here,' but this exact scenario is playing out in a state not far from our border.
It’s no secret that drivers can have a lead foot on residential roadways. To combat this, one small Midwest town has ditched the traditional speed limit sign for a surprising psychological trick designed to force a double-take.
The small town of Genoa, Wisconsin, along the Minnesota border, is doing some "outside the box" thinking in trying to curb drivers' unhealthy speeding habits by installing a "17.3 MPH" speed limit sign.
No, it’s not a typo, and it’s not a joke. It’s a psychological tactic designed to break a driver's "driving trance," and the data shows it might be more effective than any "Slow Down" campaign we’ve seen yet.
Locals have been fed up with drivers speeding through town for ages, so the local city government decided to try to fix the situation with some "outside the box" thinking. The goal wasn't to enforce stricter punishment, but rather, "psychological warfare".
Experts say that the psychology being used with these "decimal point" street signs is labeled a "pattern interrupt". If a person who's speeding at, let's say, 33 MPH in a 25 MPH zone, happens to see "25.3" instead of 25 on the street sign, they're much more likely to think twice and pump the brakes, according to the experts.
Will this be coming to South Dakota roads in the near future? Tough to say, BUT, if more cities and towns across the country have success with it, you very well could see it someday in the Mount Rushmore State.
Story Sources: Yahoo Website
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Gallery Credit: Jeff Harkness/B1027.com
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