Ingenious British woman is slowing down speeding drivers with a hairdryer

That's one way to do it.
By
Rachel Thompson
 on 
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An ingenious British woman has captured the attention of millions of people for her brilliantly creative method of slowing down speeding traffic.

64-year-old Jean Brooks from Nottingham, UK, stands in her front garden every day using a hairdryer as a fake speed gun, pointing it at cars as they drive by. And, it seems to be working.

Brooks told the BBC that groups of bikers regularly speed down her road. And she's having absolutely none of it. "It had to stop," says Brooks.

"I have never seen so many people's brake lights go on, and all it is is a hairdryer," Brooks continues.

A BBC video of Brooks in action -- filmed after she rang into a local radio show -- has gained almost 25 million views on Facebook.

Hats off to ya, Jean!

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Rachel Thompson
Features Editor

Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.

A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.

Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.


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