MOTORISTS driving in a school zone have been seeing a little girl on the road, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.
Warning signs were installed in the area, but nothing could prepare drivers for what they were about to see.
The signs reading “In a rush at a school zone? Seriously?” lead up to a little girl, most clearly seen from 100 feet away, but having disappeared by the time the driver is closer.
The safety group Preventable have teamed up with the BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation to install this $15,000 optical illusion of a little girl chasing a ball down a street in Vancouver.
The safety groups hope that it will make speeding motorists stop and think, whilst reminding them to always expect the unexpected.
“The point of it is to really get people talking about the issue of school zone safety,” says Jennifer Smith, the senior program manager of Preventable.
“We have brought back Pavement Patty to remind drivers that even at low speeds, children can be seriously injured or killed,” said Preventable co-executive director Dr. Ian Pike.
“Slow down, leave the phone alone and give the road your full attention.”
The team at Preventable have also shared a video of how the image works to their YouTube page.
Their installation, dubbed Pavement Patty, is printed on a large 40-foot decal on skid-proof, weatherproof vinyl, and was placed outside a school.
They stated that the image has a gradual effect.
As you drive closer, you can see something on the pavement, and once you reach the optimal viewing point – about 100ft away – you see the girl.
Preventable also took great care to state that the effect is not jarring or alarming, saying that the little girl doesn’t suddenly appear.
But, despite their best intentions, the illusion has drawn a wealth of criticism.
One YouTube user wrote: “It’s a very bad idea. If the drawing was on the sidewalk where cars do not go, so it’s okay. Once the drawing on the road is dangerous.
“The driver of the first times slow or even stop because they think that there is a child, but gradually you get used to drawing and will ignore it, especially if it is in other places.
“When, instead of drawing the real child, the tragedy happens.”
While another added: “Sadly I fear that a driver may mistake the illusion to be real, overreact, and actually cause an accident to occur.
“I think it’d make me violently swerve as well if I didn’t know about it, and that puts the lives of myself and others in real danger.
“It’d be a little more understandable if it wasn’t exactly where it is, which is where the driver is ‘supposed’ to be.
“Perhaps to the side of the road, where it would cause a slowdown but avoid swerves and actual dangerous driving being provoked.”
Do you want more optical illusions that put your driving abilities to the test?
Test whether you have the 20/20 vision required of a top driver if you can spot the frog hiding among the cars.
Everyone can see the oncoming vehicles but only those with the sharpest of eyes can spot the sneaky amphibian.
Or, see if you can spot the car hidden in the bathroom scene in the images below.
This puzzle will test your intelligence, as well as your visual accuracy.
