Police Cruiser and Other Traffic Safety Cutouts

We live on a straight stretch of rural highway in Oregon that some people like to use as a race way. Our local sheriff’s office doesn’t have time to sit and watch for the speeders, so out of frustration, I came up with this idea to slow people down. Upon placing this cutout of a sheriff’s patrol car in front of our property to my surprise, the traffic immediately slowed down. Everybody takes their foot off the accelerator when they see a police car whether they are speeding or not. I have had a lot of positive response from friends and neighbors and also to my surprise nationwide TV coverage about my idea.

We have decided to market our products to help other people in similar situations. We are creating other types of silhouettes also, towards safety awareness. We are planning early spring of 2005 to begin producing our products. Please check back soon for design updates and costs.

Or email us at info@pyburnandsons.com

Press Coverage

Man uses faux sheriff's car to slow down drivers
WALB News - Georgia

ALBANY, Ore. A man sick of speeders zipping through his neighborhood has found a novel way to slow the leadfoots down. Rick Pyburn has set up a decoy deputy that sits in a painted plywood cruiser stuck in some bushes near his house in Albany, Oregon. The pretend patrolman is so effective, Pyburn says, he plans to market copies of the car for residents in both city neighborhoods and rural areas. The Benton County Sheriff's Office doesn't mind the imposter. But they do say they would like to have more deputies on duty so residents don't have to resort to such ingenuity.

Slow down!
Gazette-Times - Oregon

ALBANY — For Rick Pyburn of North Albany, simply going to the mailbox used to be a hair-raising adventure. His home sits on a straightaway on Springhill Drive and motorists tend to apply the lead foot as they speed by, well in excess of the posted limit. The family that owned that home previously lost four dogs to speeding vehicles. Pyburn has lost five chickens and counting. "People hit 'em and just keep on going," Pyburn said. He used to call the Benton County Sheriff's Office about the problem. "They're so busy patrolling, they don't have the time to sit there," Pyburn said. Then one day as he watched a sheriff's car cruise by a light bulb lit up over his head. With the help of a local sign company, Pyburn constructed a two-dimensional plywood Benton County sheriff's car, well, the front half of one anyway. After setting the decoy up in some bushes near the road, Pyburn saw a marked improvement. "Once I placed that on the highway, it was amazing," he said. "The traffic immediately slowed down." Pyburn realizes the plywood car is not all that realistic looking, and that commuters on the route may realize it's a fake, but just a glimpse of the silhouette has a psychological impact on drivers, he said. They ease up on the gas when they see the car with Pyburn's reproachful visage in the "window" warning them to slow down. "I didn't want it to be exactly like a police car, so there's a little humor there" he said. "But it's enough like a police car that it puts a little bit of doubt in people's minds." The Benton County Sheriff's Office doesn't seem to mind the imposter, though they would like to have more deputies on duty so that residents did not have to resort to such ingenuity, said Benton County Undersheriff Diana Simpson. "There are a lot of areas in the county that we would like to provide patrol services to," Simpson said. Springhill and Bellfountain roads came immediately to mind. "We just don't have the resources to get patrol cars in to those areas all the time," she said. Pyburn and his neighbors have appreciated the effect of the cut-out car so much, he said, that a newer, better faux sheriff's car is in the works. This time he's shooting for more realism in size and shape, he said, and the updated model will be made of a weatherproof composite material. He plans to market copies of the car for residents in both city neighborhoods and rural areas. "There's a lot of people in our situation that could benefit," he said. Pyburn grew up in Albany. He owns and operates a third-generation family building and remodeling business, Pyburn and Sons. "I really love creating things," he said. "I get a big kick out of that."

Faux speed trap
Albany Democrat-Herald - Oregon

Traffic approaches a cutout of a Benton County sheriff's patrol car Friday on Spring Hill Drive.

Contractor Rick Pyburn put up the cruiser in his yard to slow down traffic on the straight stretch of road out past Spring Hill Country Club. "It has definitely helped," he said. The previous owner of the property lost four dogs to speeders, Pyburn said. The contractor took a picture of the sheriff's car and then had a sign shop enlarge the photo and put it on vinyl. The image was put on a piece of plywood with a base and planted in the ground. Pyburn is now working on a cutout of a state police cruiser. He says it will be closer than this one to the correct size because he has taken measurements.

Or email us at info@pyburnandsons.com