DIY Life

Whaddya know? A guy attempts a little DIY traffic calming on his own street and gets attention from the cops. No, it's not because he was pointing a radar gun at passing cars, but because of the pink tricycle he planted on the side of the road. Hmm.

If you have a problem with speeding cars on your street, I'll concede it's not really practical to stand out there all day with a radar gun anyway. So here are some suggestions that might really work to solve your traffic issues once and for all.

1. Invest in a brightly colored "kids at play" driveway sign. I'm willing to bet these signs are more effective than the presence of actual children. Why? It's because the signs are designed to be all official-looking. Responsible drivers react automatically when they see a "go slow" reminder.

Are you one of the millions who tosses away a good portion of the day sitting in traffic and wasting inordinate amounts of time during the process? Welcome to the club, as recent reports state the average San Jose citizen wastes up to 54 hours per year just sitting in traffic. I think the total is easily more than that, and if you've driven in Silicon Valley traffic before, you're probably inclined to agree with me. In other areas, the figures range from 20 hours to 70 hours per year. Bleh!

Hey, we're not yet to the point in the future where flying cars ala' The Fifth Element have arrived, so what is the solution? If you're into cheating the system, how about a way to gain access to all the green traffic lights that you can? If you're into reducing the number of stops your lane of traffic has and you drive a smaller car, truck, scooter or motorcycle, listen up.

For about $6 or so, you can probably score some 3M exterior mounting tape and a pair of small neodymium magnets. With those two items, you'll fool most current traffic stop induction systems into thinking that Scion is a Ford Expedition -- and with that disguise, you'll gain access to much faster green lights. I'm trying this one soon after a short trip to the nearest Home Depot. Get the dibs using the below video. (NOTE: This may be illegal where you live! We provide this info for edutainment purposes only)

I schooled and trained to be a cop. As a matter of fact I spent a couple years certified as a humane officer, although I never took the job. Suffice it to say that I've talked with more cops than the average person has and I've probably known more cops than I really needed to. One of the things that I learned was that, given the right circumstances, almost every cop lets a speeding motorist "skate the rap" now and then.

There is a somewhat prescribed course of action which will help "put you in the drivers seat" when it comes to escaping the wrath of the ticket writing cop and the traffic court judge. The very first thing you must do is immediately accept that you have done wrong.

If a cop flags your plates and turns on those lovely colored strobes on top of his car, speeding or not, you're caught. They are right and you are wrong. Yeah it sucks, but that's life. Signal your departure from the traffic lane, ease to the shoulder nice and smooth, stop your car like a good citizen and shut off your engine.