In some places, the problem of speeding drivers on the road is so serious that the daily life of residents and passers-by can become a nightmare. Ask Ulf Schwerin from Sweden: For years the 74-year-old has had to put up with the cars and vehicles that speed through the streets of the small town of Stora Mellösa in Orebro County.
Believing that signs asking people to slow down near a church were insufficient, the elderly man decided to take a “do-it-yourself” approach. How? ‘Or’ What? With a little ingenuity and a lot of determination, he devised his own personal “traffic control” system, which quickly toured the world to the approval and amusement of many.
#1
image credit: SVT
Have you ever thought that all it takes to slow a car down is a trivial … hairdryer ? No, we’re not kidding, because that’s exactly what Ulf Schwerin came up with to discipline motorists in his area. In the absence of signposts and numerous unanswered complaints to the city administration, the time had come to act.
And so, armed – so to speak – with his wife’s hairdryer! and wearing a cap and a reflective yellow vest, the enterprising Ulf took to the street and stood by the side of the road. Once there, he decided to “point” the dreaded hairdryer in the direction of cars traveling above the speed limit (30 kilometers per hour in this sector), in the hope that the drivers slow down and take the device for a radar .
#2
image credit: SVT
His traffic control operation was very unusual, and lasted about an hour and a half and, according to him, paid off. Motorists, seeing him in this position, wearing this vest and especially with the hair dryer pointed at them, immediately braked, thinking that it was an agent who detected the speed in order to punish the most unruly.
It didn’t take long for his unusual feat to become known to the public. When asked about the incident, local road safety officials said the elderly man was not doing anything wrong, at least until he tried to obviously stop the cars or wrote the word “police” on his waistcoat.
#3
image credit: SVT
In this context, Ulf has not been short of job offers. Several residents of neighboring towns were impressed by the exploits of this ” human radar ” and called on it to watch the roads where cars run at full speed in its own way. What do you think of this man’s idea? Who knows if, sooner or later, we won’t see someone on the side of the road who wants to imitate him!
source used: SVT