Vancouver police are launching a new strategy that aims to fight speeding drivers with cardboard cut-outs of police officers.
Operation Silhouette uses life-sized cut-out silhouettes of police officers holding radar guns to fool drivers into thinking they are driving through a speed trap.
Real officers could be hiding behind one, two or three of the eight silhouettes police will plant along the notorious Knight Street corridor in East Vancouver today.
Police say Knight Street is the single worst route for speeding and vehicle incidents because it is a six-lane commuter route with no parking in the curb lanes, making it a wide-open corridor for drivers.
The location of the silhouettes along Knight Street will change according to traffic flow.
When tested earlier this week, police say drivers did respond and subsequently slowed down. One tow truck driver even pulled up to the cardboard cut-out and started talking, thinking it was a real officer.
The cut-outs are covered with Mylar, a coating that will protect them from wet weather and graffiti.
Police say they want to educate drivers and crack down on those who continue to speed.
There have been seven fatalities related to vehicle incidents so far this year. There were 25 such fatalities last year.
