Save the children... from speeding cars. I was worried about the number of speeders on my street, so I finally decided to take action. Predictably the action was not confrontational, nor was it really effective. I set up an unofficial speed trap in front on my house and kept track of speeders vs. non-speeders while I read on the front steps. Here's the details. Follow them and you too can be the busybody neighbor that no one sends their kids to at Halloween!

First, get some sidewalk chalk and a tape measure. Then mark out a "start" line in the road such that you can easily see it from your chosen viewpoint. Then measure 44 feet down the road and mark up a "finish" line. When a car passes the start line you say "one-mississippi" and look at the finish line. If the car beat you, they are going faster than 30 mph. If you beat the car they are a good person, certain to find paradise in the afterlife.

I kept track of speeders vs. good people and found that only 1 of 37 motor vehicles exceeded 30 mph on my one-way, narrow, and heavily used road. That's only 2.7% of all vehicle trips! I love numbers. What was I getting all upset about? Oh. Yeah, the one speeder covered 44 feet in less time than it took me to say "one-miss-". Burn in Hell, evildoer!