Permission to Speed in Southern Utah

I am sure everyone knows the frustration of driving off the freeway on long road trips and having to slow down to 35 mph as you pass through towns, only to speed up again less than a mile later. Especially in Southern Utah, where the towns almost always look deserted, it is easy to keep your cruise control on as you breeze through the town. In a perfect world, we would probably all slow down and follow the law, but as it is now, the small towns in the middle of nowhere either have to expect people too speed through town, have to dedicate their whole population to the police force, or they have to be creative in their "brake promoting" methods. For example, sometimes you will see "Speed Limit Radar Enforced" signs in a town that doesn't even have a stop sign. On the way to the Grand Canyon, my family noticed a much more creative and believable solution.

It is almost an instant reflex to slam on the brake when you come over a hill and see this waiting for you on the side of the road.

Near my parent's house, the local policeman parks his patrol car outside his house on the road, even when he is not in it. It is easy to see, however, as you approach that no one is in the car. We wondered if this was the case with the cars we passed, but it was clear someone sitting in the driver's seat. The residents of Kanab, Orderville, Panguitch, etc. knew an empty police car doesn't really slow anyone down.

So, they contacted the local department store, borrowed a mannequin, stuck sunglasses on it, sat it in the driver's seat of a patrol car, and parked it at the bottom of a hill.


And lest you think Utah is the only state to have plastic policemen, let me introduce you to the City Marshall of Freedonia, Arizona.


Moral of the Story: Don't turn off your cruise control as you pass through small towns.