06 February 2020
Council’s road safety team have trialled a portable radar on Casuarina Way that flashes a red sad face to speeding drivers and a green smiley face to drivers who are obeying the speed limit.
Road Safety Officer Alana Brooks said most drivers wanted to do the right thing and the interactive signs gave drivers instant feedback and reminded them about the speed limit.
At the two locations on Casuarina Way, Casuarina, speeds have dropped by an average of seven kilometres an hour.
Before placement of the smiley face radar, a site north of Windsong Way recorded that 58 per cent of vehicles were travelling over the 50 kilometre an hour speed limit. When the sign was present, only seven per cent of drivers were doing the wrong thing.
“The signs are a great community awareness tool, encouraging drivers to check their speed and acknowledging good driving behaviour,” Ms Brooks said.
While Council has only one smiley face radar sign at this stage, funding applications have been lodged with the NSW Government for more.
Locations for the signs will be prioritised based on known speeding problems, on-going community concern, a high number of vulnerable road users and/or a recorded crash history.
Photo 1(JPG, 73KB)
Caption: Smiley face signs on the Tweed Coast have reduced speeding.