Idea has been revived as part of debate on how to reduce road deaths

A road safety campaign in Russia has come up with an inventive way to force drivers to slow down - by using topless women to carry speed limit signs.

The scheme involves near naked women parading along the side of the road at accident blackspots.

A trial showed that the idea significantly slowed traffic near a pedestrian crossing in Severny village, in the central Nizhny Novgorod region.

A road safety campaign in Russia has come up with an inventive way to force drivers to slow down - by using topless women to carry speed limit signs

The scheme involves near naked women parading along the road at accident blackspots

Road safety campaign Avtodrizhenia, who staged the trial, said that 'most speeding drivers, the majority of whom happened to be men, slowed down to admire the female road safety assistants.'

While the trial dates from 2013, the idea has been revived as part of a new national debate on reducing the 30,000 a year deaths on Russia's roads.

The topless women held signs warning of 60 and 40 kilometres per hour. There were no reports of accidents caused by drivers being distracted.

Elderly pedestrians were grateful for the bizarre method, claiming they took their lives in their hands each time they use the designated road crossing.

An experiment showed that the idea significantly slowed traffic near a pedestrian crossing in Severny village in central Russia

Road safety campaign Avtodrizhenia staged the trial and said that 'most speeding drivers slowed down to admire the female road safety assistants'

One female pensioner said: 'Drivers do not let us cross. Some of them do but many others just fly past.

'They even shout at us - 'why are you walking here?' Can you believe it?'

One of the models who stripped off for the experiment said: 'Our drivers usually do not slow down when they pass a village or a settlement even though their are speed limit signs by the road. So we have to make them do it.'

While the trial dates from 2013, the idea has been revived as part of a new national debate on reducing the 30,000 a year deaths on Russia's roads

A male driver said: 'It's super thing, amazing. I'd like to see more of this by the road, and yes I looked at speed limit sign this time. It will teach other drivers too.'

Igor Mikhailushkin, head of the regional police press service in Nizhny Novgorod region, where the experiment took place, said: 'We have organised similar installations this and last year trying to make the drivers obey the speed limit.

'But I must say our girls were dressed more than these women.'

Figures suggest Russia's roads are among the most dangerous in the world.