Expensive speeding tickets haven’t worked. Rumble strips scratched into the roads are just too noisy. And speed bumps are not feasible. So Virginia officials are hoping a little magic can help slow down speeders.
The Virginia Department of Transportation began installing “optical speed bars” — a series of lines painted at decreasing intervals — on a curvy stretch of road in Fairfax County that give drivers the perception they are moving much faster than they intended.
The approximately half-mile section of Lee Chapel Road, between Route 123 and the Fairfax County Parkway, has been a haven for speeders, said VDOT spokesman Ryan Hall.
Hall said a recent study showed 85 percent of northbound motorists drive an average of 15 mph over the posted limit (40 mph) and southbound motorists go about 7 mph over. The road averages about 5,000 drivers each weekday.
Hall said police speed enforcement is nearly impossible because of the narrow shoulders along the curvy stretch of road.
VDOT officials will monitor speeds along the section for the next three months to see if the “illusion,” which costs VDOT just $2,000 to install, works.
“In terms of the cost of this experiment, you’re talking about peanuts compared to the costs of injuries and deaths,” said Gene Arnold, a VDOT researcher.
At a glance
» The 25 pairs of white lines, about two feet long and a foot wide, were installed Wednesday.
» A British study of optical speed bars found they reduced fatal and serious injury accidents and maintained their effectiveness for four years after the initial data were collected.
» Magnetic speed detectors are being installed at 10 locations on Lee Chapel Road to study the bars effectiveness.
» Total cost of the research project being conducted is $100,000 and is expected to be completed in November.
