Florida Police Speed Trap Foiled by Two-Word Sign

Officials in Florida were foiled when someone placed a sign in front of a speed trap that warned motorists of police. Collier County Sheriff's Office

Officials in Florida were foiled when someone placed a sign in front of a speed trap that warned motorists of police.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post that its deputies were set up to carry out a speed enforcement operation after residents made a request.

“After a significant amount of time had passed they were puzzled,” police said on April 17. “Traffic was steady, so why had they identified just one driver who was traveling over the speed limit?”

When they left the area, they discovered a warning set up next to a speed limit sign.

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“Police ahead,” read the wooden sign. It was leaned up against a pole.

“As they left the area they spotted this sign about a quarter of a mile ahead of their enforcement site,” said the sheriff’s office, which added laughing emojis.

“Well played, Anonymous Sign Artist. Well played,” it said.

In the comments section, people responded. “The sign maker is a hero,” said one person.

“Not all heroes wear capes,” wrote another.

“Way to be good sports about it. I find humor in y’all’s response,” added one.

Drivers Young and Old Taking More Risks

Well over half of drivers in every age group have texted behind the wheel, run a red light or driven faster than the speed limit in the last 30 days, according to a study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, according to The Associated Press.

Younger drivers are the worst offenders. Eighty-eight percent of drivers ages 19 to 24 admitted to at least one of those behaviors. But even mature drivers skirted the rules more often researchers expected. For instance, 10 percent of drivers between 60 and 74 have texted or sent email from behind the wheel, while 37 percent of drivers over 75 said they’d driven through a light that had just turned red.

Traffic moves on 2nd Avenue in the morning hours on March 15, 2019, in New York City. Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images

“It was a surprise that there were relatively high rates of these behaviors among the drivers we think of as safer,” said Lindsay Arnold, a research associate with the AAA Foundation.

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The rise in traffic deaths “points to the need to improve driver behavior if we’re going to reverse this alarming trend,” Arnold said.

The study questioned 2,511 licensed drivers aged 16 and over. Among its findings

Traffic on a main route into London by the towers of the financial district Canary Wharf on Oct. 28, 2013. Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

• The youngest drivers—those ages 16 to 18—were less likely to engage in speeding, running red lights, or texting while driving than drivers in their 20s through 50s.
• Eighty-three percent of drivers—and 86.5 percent of drivers 75 or older—said they were more careful than other drivers on the road.
• Just over half of drivers feel seriously threatened by drivers talking on cellphones, but 68 percent made a call while driving in the last 30 days

Heavy traffic moves along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in Brooklyn, New York, on Nov. 20, 2018. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

• Drivers ages 40-59 were the most likely to use a hands-free phone in the car. Drivers ages 16-18 and 75 or older were the most likely to hold their phones and talk while driving.
• Twenty-three percent of drivers—and 36 percent of those ages 19 to 24—think it’s acceptable to drive 15 mph over the speed limit on a freeway. Forty-six percent of drivers say they have driven that fast on a freeway in the last 30 days.

The Associated Press contributed to this report