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Ottawa police unveil a life-size metal cut-out of a police officer brandishing a radar gun Friday which they hope will prompt lead-footed drivers to slow down.

It was dubbed Constable Scarecrow during a 2018 pilot project in British Columbia.

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“The Coquitlam two-month pilot collected speeding data that showed a significant decrease with the presence of the cut-out, making this an affordable deterrent option.” Coun. Stephen Blais, the chair of the city’s transportation committee, said in a news release.

Photo by File / THE CANADIAN PRESS

The $165 signs use an image of flesh-and-blood traffic officer Const. Luc Mongeon.

He was on hand along with Safer Roads Ottawa officials when the first is unveiled on Portobello Road at Charest Way at 11 a.m. Friday.

A traffic audit of the location found that more than 5,000 vehicles go through the area in a 24-hour period with fewer than one in five complying with the posted speed limit of 50 km/h. The average speed was 57 km/h.

“Speed limits are set for a reason,” Mongeon said. “Even driving ten kilometres over the speed limit poses additional dangers to drivers and other road users, particularly pedestrians.

“We want drivers to make safety their priority when they are behind the wheel.”

Some drivers just plain don’t like rules, like the one nabbed going 107 km/h near a Portobello Boulevard school Friday morning.

“The same location where “(Constable) Scarecrow” will be unveiled later this morning!” Const. Phil Kane tweeted.

A second cut-out will be placed on Bridge Street in Manotick.