One woman’s hair dryer is another woman’s speed meter (apparently).
A worried grandmother took matters into her own hands after becoming fed up with people speeding through her neighbourhood in Polson, Mont.
Instead of sitting back and waiting for state troopers to catch them, Patti Baumgartner decided to take a post on the side of the road, using a white hair dryer as a makeshift speed meter.
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The hope, of course, was that the hair tool’s resemblance to an official meter would encourage drivers to slow down.
Baumgartner’s son, Tim, took to Twitter to share pictures of his mother doing the good deed, tagging Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Noah Pesola.
“This Lady is helping @TrooperPesola slow drivers down on Finley Point,” he tweeted. “She’s running radar with her #SoloCup #FinleyPoint #SlowDown.”
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Just as intended, Pesola did, in fact, catch wind of his volunteer colleague.
“I thought it was hilarious. 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,” he told the station.
As a thank-you gesture, Pesola granted Baumgartner an Honorary State Trooper title.
He shared a sweet photo of them together, which showed Baumgartner wearing a plastic trooper hat and holding a sticker badge — her gift for a job well done.
“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.”
While it’s unknown if the hair dryer had an impact on speeding in the area, her neighbours can rest assured, she says, that she’ll be continuing at her noble post.
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