One angry grandmother in Montana decided to take the law into her own hands. If not the law, a hairdryer at least. Speeding drivers might think twice after catching a glimpse of Patti Baumgartner.
After becoming absolutely fed up with dangerous drivers on her road, she decided to do something about it. Equipped with a hairdryer and a cold beverage, Baumgartner set up a “speed trap” with a hairdryer to look like a “radar gun.”
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Patti Baumgartner was frustrated with people speeding down the road in front of her home.
Drivers on South Finley Point in Polson, Montana have been put on notice. After seeing the too-speedy drivers for herself and hearing from others, Patti Baumgartner decided to do something about all the poor drivers on her street.
“There are a lot of people that are complaining that they can’t walk or ride their bikes,” she told her local news station KPAX, “I wouldn’t even attempt riding a bike around.”
She knew something had to be done but consulted her son, Tim, on the best way to get drivers to slow down.
“We were talking about maybe something would slow the cars down,” she said. “So, we decided to put me in a chair, and I guess use the hairdryer as a speed thing.”
After Patti and Tim devised their plan, Tim took photos and posted them to twitter.
Tim tweeted the photo at Montana State Highway Patrol Trooper Noah Pesola, who was more than amused.
“I thought it was hilarious,” Pesola told KPAX. “I think that we have a speed issue in Montana, and I thought it was a great creative idea for the public to try and combat that a little bit without making people too upset.”
Trooper Noah Pesola wasn’t the only one who got a kick out of it. Twitter had a lot of love for the photo.
From your run-of-the-mill twitter user to CBS and FOX news, everyone wanted in on Patti Baumgartner’s action.
Officer Pesola found Patti and made her an “honorary trooper.”
As a thank you for helping raise awareness about the dangers of speeding, Pesola gave Patti a hat and a badge.
“It’s not an official [title] or anything like that for the honorary trooper — which is kind of what I called it,” Pesola explained to KPAX. “I didn’t know what else to do for her, when she’s doing something for the community.”
“And like she says, she’s got grandkids in the area, so she’s doing something for her grandkids’ benefit,” he said. “The best thing I could think of was give her a trooper hat and a badge to make her look a little more official.”
We’re not sure that a hairdryer is really making a difference, but if Patti’s viral fame can make people think twice about how fast they’re driving, we’d say that’s a job well done.
Listen to Grandma Patti and slow down!
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