Lately I've been noticing electronic speed signs all over the place. Seems you can't drive anywhere without coming upon one of them. They're springing up faster than Christmas displays on the day after Halloween.

You know the signs I'm talking about? They stand primly at the entrance to many towns and villages with a sign stating the speed limit above an electronic sign that gives an instant radar readout of the speed you are driving as well as a scolding message that flashes “SLOW DOWN! TOO FAST!” if you are driving over the speed limit. Rather obnoxious for my taste.

I've only seen one of the signs that actually flashes “THANK YOU” if you are driving at or under the speed limit. If they are going to scold us for misbehaving, the least they can do is thank us for driving at the proper speed.

I'm sure it's only a matter of time before we are being sent tickets for going over the speed limit as the data collected by these speed signs is sent to the local police organizations. Technology has truly helped out Big Brother.

However, I did a bit of research and discovered that these signs are part of the effort to make traffic safer. The Germans have a word for it, of course. They call it Verkehrsberuhigung , and directly translated, we call it “traffic calming.”

That's why you're seeing these mechanical speed signs, as well as other transformative elements designed to get drivers to slow down and pay attention. But mostly slow down.

Among the changes to our roads are speed bumps on side streets in an effort to make drivers reduce speed. Another change is the addition of medians between lanes of traffic, or the addition of rumble strips.

We are also seeing more defined bike lanes which reduce the size of the car lane. There is something called a “road diet” in which a lane is removed from a street in an effort to make it safer.

The intent is to get drivers to pay more attention to the road and behave more safely, and it is done through engineering (these road changes), education, and enforcement (of course).

Many traffic calming changes are part of an effort to keep pedestrians safer. To accomplish this, pedestrian walkways may be made of different material than the road to set it apart. In addition, walkways may be either higher or lower than the road, forcing drivers to slow down. In New York, pedestrians have the right of way, and signs near these walkways are appearing more often to remind drivers of this fact.

So although I admit I'm bugged by those speed signs, I am certainly in favor of changes that make us more alert as drivers and keep both passengers and pedestrians safer.

If it takes some speed bumps or nagging signs to do it, so be it, I guess.