Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution/Mainichi/Yuria Kiyama
Most drivers slow down when they spot a police officer ahead. Some slow down even if they're breaking the limit, while others slam on the brakes, causing a chain reaction that could sometimes lead to the phantom traffic jams we all hate.
However, the presence of a police officer on the side of the road has long been considered a huge deterrent for speeders, which is why law enforcement occasionally recommends that drivers pin them on the map in Waze.
This is why Mamoru Miyata, a Japanese business owner, decided to create two realistic police officer dummies and plant them on the side of National Route 176 in Tambasasayama, Hyogo Prefecture.
The man explains that drivers just won't slow down when driving in a straight line near JR Minamiyashiro Station. Because nothing else worked, he created two fake police officers to make everybody believe they could get a fine unless they reduced their speed.
The idea isn't new, and authorities in other regions also created fake police cars and officer dummies for a similar reason, but the Japanese business owner pushed the concept to a new level. He created two fake officers: a female holding a traffic wand and a male operating a laser gun aimed at the oncoming traffic. There's also a fake police car parked next to the two dummies.
You might be thinking that creating fake police and putting the dummies on the side of the road is illegal, but Miyata thoroughly thought of everything before coming up with this idea. The local authorities claim the man doesn't break any law because the dummies are installed on private property, and the officers and the car do not carry any official tags. The patrol car doesn't read "police" but "peace," despite wearing the same colors as the real deal. So do the police officers, but all these details can hardly be observed from a distance.
Drivers entering the straight line and tempted to accelerate can't see the text on the car or the rest of the details on the dummies, so they stay within the limit until they approach the officers.
Unfortunately, statistics show that such efforts were absolutely necessary as authorities failed to find a way to reduce the number of accidents in the prefecture. The Hyogo Prefectural Police revealed to the local media that the region recorded over 5,000 accidents with injuries in the first four months of the year, of which there were 1,250 severe crashes every month. Unfortunately, 36 people lost their lives between January and April 2024, so fingers crossed that this idea is efficient and will eventually be picked up by other people and authorities in more regions (not just Japan).
This is why Mamoru Miyata, a Japanese business owner, decided to create two realistic police officer dummies and plant them on the side of National Route 176 in Tambasasayama, Hyogo Prefecture.
The man explains that drivers just won't slow down when driving in a straight line near JR Minamiyashiro Station. Because nothing else worked, he created two fake police officers to make everybody believe they could get a fine unless they reduced their speed.
The idea isn't new, and authorities in other regions also created fake police cars and officer dummies for a similar reason, but the Japanese business owner pushed the concept to a new level. He created two fake officers: a female holding a traffic wand and a male operating a laser gun aimed at the oncoming traffic. There's also a fake police car parked next to the two dummies.
You might be thinking that creating fake police and putting the dummies on the side of the road is illegal, but Miyata thoroughly thought of everything before coming up with this idea. The local authorities claim the man doesn't break any law because the dummies are installed on private property, and the officers and the car do not carry any official tags. The patrol car doesn't read "police" but "peace," despite wearing the same colors as the real deal. So do the police officers, but all these details can hardly be observed from a distance.
Drivers entering the straight line and tempted to accelerate can't see the text on the car or the rest of the details on the dummies, so they stay within the limit until they approach the officers.
Unfortunately, statistics show that such efforts were absolutely necessary as authorities failed to find a way to reduce the number of accidents in the prefecture. The Hyogo Prefectural Police revealed to the local media that the region recorded over 5,000 accidents with injuries in the first four months of the year, of which there were 1,250 severe crashes every month. Unfortunately, 36 people lost their lives between January and April 2024, so fingers crossed that this idea is efficient and will eventually be picked up by other people and authorities in more regions (not just Japan).
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