How "armadillos" could be Sacramento's latest sideshow stoppers
SACRAMENTO — Stopping sideshows with a piece of plastic—that's what traffic safety advocates are pushing in the city of Sacramento.
They're called "armadillos" because the curved roadway dividers resemble the small animal with an armored shell. The plastic bumps get a driver's attention if they're run over, and at high speed, they could cause a tire to loose traction.
Cities like St, Louis have installed them along bike lanes. Now, traffic safety advocate Isaac Gonzalez said they could also be placed in Sacramento intersections to prevent reckless driving.
"This discourages people from being able to do burnouts, donuts, sideshows," said Gonzalez, founder of Slow Down Sacramento.
Margarita Chavez is sick of seeing sideshows in her south Sacramento neighborhood. Many nearby intersections are covered with burnt-out tire marks.
"Just last week, there was one that was going forever," Chavez said. "I did call and about 20 minutes later, I heard the sirens."
Since she launched a petition to install these plastic devices in front of her home, she said the sideshows on this street have stopped.
"A lot of people were really thankful," Chavez said.
Sacramento police said they are seeing an increase in sideshow activity and they will be adding an extra team of motorcycle officers at night to increase traffic enforcement efforts.
Gonzalez said more money should be spent on roadway designs that prevent bad driving behavior and things like armadillos that could become a sideshow stopper.
"[When sideshows] pop up, they can disperse before the cops get there, but something like this passive piece of infrastructure [can] dissuade people from doing sideshows 24 hours a day, 7 days a week without the need of a cop," Gonzalez said.
Sacramento city leaders are also considering new laws that would issue citations to anyone standing on the sidelines of a sideshow and fine drivers that leave behind skidmarks or other damage to city property.