I was walking down a local road recently and I could see ahead of me a speeding warning sign. The sign flashes the maximum speed that you should be travelling for any vehicles exceeding that speed limit. For this sign that speed is 30 miles an hour since it’s a residential area.

The sad thing was, as I walked along the road on a busy weekday evening, every vehicle that passed me received the flashing warning sign that they were exceeding the speed limit. Not only that, but I looked at the break light panel of all the vehicles that passed and none of them applied their brakes. Put simply, they all ignored the ‘request’ of the sign.

Human nature being what it is, however, generally doesn’t respond well to what it’s told it’s doing wrong. “30” was the flash and it had zero impact on the slowing down of the drivers. Something tells me too that there may well have been a handful of drivers who reacted by driving faster. What I also do know as fact is that there is now a speed monitor across the road further up the road.

In another village not to far from me there’s another driver sign. Whenever you travel no faster than the maximum speed limit it flashes “Thank you”. Whenever I’ve driven there I’ve noticed some drivers slow down. Not all but that will always be the way for some simply won’t respond positively. Some drivers do slow down though.

It seems to me that flashing “Thank you” in someone’s face to doing what you want them to do brings a better response than flashing “30” in their face for doing what you don’t want them to do.

The moral of this anecdote. I’ll let you decide.

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