If you’re driving on Union Street in Montclair, between Orange Road and South Mountain, you’ll see bright red signs with “Drive Like Your Kids Live Here” in bold white lettering. You can’t help but slow down to read them when you see them, and that’s exactly what the signs are intended to do.
Recently purchased by neighbors on the block, the signs are a part of a national initiative to remind drivers to slow down because children are around. Martha Evans, mother of one, spoke with Barista Kids about the sign near her home. She said speeding is a problem on her block especially, with drivers going downhill from South Mountain Avenue to Orange Road, and vice versa. After a neighbor told her about the signs, she happily wanted to display one.
“The design is so powerful,” Evans says. She believes that when drivers see a yellow sign, it sorts of blends in, but the bright red, similar to a Stop sign, makes us naturally slow down and notice it. Evans adds, “They are very compelling visually,” which she feels combined with the message works so well. Currently there are two on the block, but Evans says various neighbors have shown interest in purchasing their own signs. Evans says the signs have only been up for about a month and since it’s colder, she hasn’t been outside enough to notice if people are in fact slowing down and “driving like their kids live there.” However, she says, every time she turns onto the block they catch her eye and remind her to slow down.
Founded in 2010, “Drive Like Your Kids Live Here” is a national effort to slow aggressive and distracted drivers in neighborhoods to prevent unnecessary injuries and deaths. Founder of the organization, Petulia Pugliares, told Barista Kids a bit more about the signs:
The organization began as a grass roots effort because I felt the need to make a difference in my neighborhood with regards to traffic calming. I live smack in the middle of two elementary schools in addition to the local high school, making automobile traffic and foot traffic pretty heavy during morning and afternoon commuting hours. After witnessing several, preventable motor vehicle accidents and two collision near misses of my own while walking in my neighborhood, I decided it was time to do something about it!
I designed a yard sign with a message that I thought was clear and to the point, however polite. Soon after posting the signs, neighbors and passersby were knocking on my door asking where they could get one! Neighborhood leaders began inquiring about quantities of signs they could share/post within their communities and community safety events they were planning to have revolving around the DLYKLH signs. The demand for signs lead us to offering them for sale on website, making them available for anyone who wanted one. Our safety effort has evolved into a national movement as we have signs posted in every state, including Hawaii and Alaska. We have also sold signs in Canada with interest in Australia and The Netherlands.
Personally, I love the signs and think we need more of them in town. Just this week, I had a parent driver ride on my bumper because I was doing 30 mph on a 25 street, which apparently wasn’t fast enough for him. Then he made a left-hand turn while BEHIND me as I started to turn after I waited to make my left turn safely. Thankfully, I was aware and stopped in time before we had an accident. This was all in a school zone, with kids walking and crossing the street. And that is JUST one example of reckless driving around areas with lots of children.
But do these signs really work? According to the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, those yellow “Children at Play” signs give people a false sense of security. According to this Slate article,”The National Cooperative Highway Research Program sternly advises that “non-uniform signs such as “CAUTION—CHILDREN AT PLAY,” “SLOW—CHILDREN,” or similar legends should not be permitted on any roadway at any time.”
Still, I like them and think they make a difference, even if it’s small. What do you think? Will you be purchasing a “Drive Like Your Kids Live Here” sign for your block?