BLUFFDALE, Utah (ABC 4 News) - ABC 4 continues to take action to stop people who speed, but this week Speed Zapper is taking a bit of twist. Brian Carlson is in Bluffdale trying a new way to slow down fast drivers.
They don't drive by often, but when they do, they go fast.
"They go 45 plus miles an hour," said Sue Harward, Bluffdale resident.
Harward lives off Iron Horse Boulevard in Bluffdale. She’s worried speeders are making it dangerous for young kids on her street.
“The rate it was going, it was only a matter of time before someone was going to hit something or somebody,” said Harward.
So we talked to the city about the situation. They told us they've been looking into it.
“And as our study showed that was an average of about 39 miles an hour,” said Mark Reid, Bluffdale City Manager.
Part of the problem has been, there's been no posted speed limit on this street, but once ABC 4 got involved a 35 speed limit sign went up the same day.
“I guess a little nudging from the boss goes a long way,” said ABC 4 Reporter Brian Carlson to Reid.
“It doesn't hurt at all,” Reid said.
Now that drivers can see the speed limit, ABC 4 teamed up with Unified Police to see if they'd take their foot off the gas.
We found a dramatic difference in drivers’ habits. One man was even so intimidated we were there, put his truck in reverse.
“People are looking at the sign consciously saying hey, I need to be at 35 miles an hour, to where if there's not one posted people aren't thinking about the speed limit and they're going to be flying down the roadway,” said Scott Finlayson, Unified Police Dept.
So in one day, Iron Horse went from flying to gliding, and we didn't need to zap one driver.
“It seems to be slowing people down which is a good thing and that's my bottom line,” said Harward.
