Man Uses Hair Dryer to Slow Speeding Cars

Tim Bryce is fed up with speeders who whiz by his Palm Harbor business on Alt. U.S. 19 at dangerously fast speeds. He was recently so fed up, he decided to take matters into his own hands. 

So, Bryce grabbed a beat-up old hair dryer and marched down the driveway of his business, past the mangroves that line the property, and he stood on the side of the road and took aim. 

Bryce says that one-by-one the drivers of speeding cars saw him pointing the hair dryer at them and they slowed down. He thinks the drivers thought he was a cop with a radar gun, which caused them to instinctively put on the brakes. He repeated the routine, changing his attire on multiple occasions.  

Bryce wrote about his experiment in his blog on Palm Harbor Patch. He says his method of catching speeders is cost effective, especially during tough economic times when police agencies are dealing with shrinking budgets.

So what do authorities think of Bryce's theory?

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri says speeding should be taken seriously.  

"Speeding is dangerous and people shouldn't do it. Speeding causes crashes and public safety issues," he said. 

As for budget cuts, Gualtieri says there used to be nine deputies in the county who were dedicated to traffic enforcement, but that changed when Florida hit tough economic times. Gualtieri says 600 positions in the department were eliminated over the last four years.

The sheriff says his deputies now pro-actively enforce traffic laws, in addition to their other duties. 

The sheriff's office also has freestanding electronic speed signs that are moved to different locations throughout the county in an effort to remind people to drive at safe speeds. A radar on the sign captures a vehicle's speed as it drives by and displays the speed on an electronic screen.

The sheriff's office looks at crash data and citizen complaints when determining where there is a need for traffic enforcement like this in the county. Gualtieri says the sheriff's office also welcomes input from citizens about where traffic enforcement is needed. 

"Help us, be our eyes and call us," he said.