Wheelie bin signs target Seadown speedsters
A man tired of speeding traffic down his street has decided to take matters into his own hands.
Jim Morton, who lives on Acacia Drive, Seadown, on the northern outskirts of Timaru, has purchased a load of speed signs from Timaru Signs to place on wheelie bins in the street.
‘‘Most drivers are pretty good around here, but you get the occasional person who doesn’t drive sensibly, and that’s who I’m targeting.’’
He bought the 50kmh signs to help remind people of the actual speed limit down Acacia Drive, which runs parallel to, and just several metres away from, State Highway 1.
‘‘You get some drivers who use this street as a short-cut and forget that there is a 50kmh speed limit,’’ Morton said.
‘‘Occasionally people forget about it. It’s been a problem for a long time.’’
Morton said he hoped other people who had similar issues with their street could also use the signs.
‘‘This isn’t a new idea I’ve dreamed up; they have something similar down some streets in Oamaru.’’
Morton had not received any feedback from his neighbours about the signs, but said he was just doing a small thing to help.
South Canterbury Road Safety co-ordinator Daniel Naude said he could not endorse the idea. However, he could understand where it came from.
‘‘It sounds like it’s an act of desperation to me,’’ Naude said.
‘‘Someone doesn’t just put signs outside their house after one event, it must have been occurring for a long time.’’
Naude said there were problems with people treating the speed limit as a target.
‘‘We’ve got to sort out the attitude that all rural roads are instantly 100kmh. Many drivers don’t think about the conditions or the actual speed limit, they just drive really fast,’’ he said.
‘‘There are people in rural areas getting fed up with those travelling too fast down their roads and not paying attention to the conditions.’’