School Installs 3-D 'Girl' to Slow Traffic

(CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - A school in Canada has teamed up with traffic safety groups to install something new to get motorists to slow down. The persuasive obstacle? The appearance of a girl running into the road as she chases a ball.

The "girl" is actually a 3-D illusion painted on the road. It is elongated and geared to making drivers slow down at high-risk intersections.

The image has been painted on the road outside Ecole Pauline Johnson Elementary School in West Vancouver in Canada. There is also a sign that reads, "You're probably not expecting kids to run into the road."

While it first looks like a marking on the road, the illusion appears to suddenly rise up as vehicles approach (see the video below). It then appears to sink back into the road.

Discover Magazine said designers created it to give drivers staying at the recommended 18 miles per hour enough time to stop before hitting the "girl."

Discover said the BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation and the public awareness group Preventable.ca are leading a $15,000 safety program that includes the illusion. Police are monitoring the effects that the girl has on motorists.

The foundation's David Duane said the image shouldn't cause accidents.

"It's a static image," he said to ctvbc.ca . "If a driver can't respond to this appropriately, that person shouldn't be driving and that's a whole different problem."

The illusion will be in place for a one-week pilot, after which the project will be evaluated, reported the Vancouver Sun .

The New York Times reported on a similar approach used in Philadelphia in 2008. White, blue and orange triangles were painted on the road that appeared 3-D.

The experience was good enough that officials planned to add virtual humps in other neighborhoods to deter speeding.