Use of Mountie cutouts expanded to help deter dangerous driving habits

RCMP in Surrey, B.C., says the detachment isstudying how the use of 2-D Mounties will change dangerous driving habits on some of the city's highest-riskroads and intersections.

Cutouts oftwo-dimensional versions of a frontline officerand marked police vehiclewill be set up at roadways around the city where drivers either habitually speed or use "unsafe driving behaviours, " according to a Surrey RCMP statement issued Wednesday.

Const. Richard Wright says officers can't be everywhere at all times, but the 2-D cut-outs can help.

"We won't always be with the cutouts, but a volunteer or other member of the staff will be. The whole point is to increase visibility around the city and to help drivers to make safe driving decisions."

Certain high-risk areas are targeted for the use of the cutouts, and thearsenal of artificial officers will be rotated throughout the city.

Wright says the campaign which launched Oct. 4, is part of a study and has already deliveredthe desired results.

"Volunteers and the Mounties that have been deployed along with [the decoys]have seen a great decrease in the negative driving behaviours and speed in the areas."

Coquitlam cuts out high-risk behaviours

The City of Coquitlam unveiled itsweapon in the fight against speeding in the city mid-September last year. The detachment deployedthree realistic, two-dimensional cutouts of one of itsofficers holding a radar gun.

The trio of "Const. Scarecrows" wasplaced around the city to remind drivers to slow down because a real officer with a real ticket book could be anywhere to make speeders pay.

In Surrey's case, the RCMP worked with Vision Zero Surrey and ICBC to develop its initiative.Vision Zero Surrey saidthe data collected will be used to assess the impact of the ongoing enforcement project.