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Angel a bid to slow speeders

A Victoria Secret angel might have a better chance at slowing traffic, but Swiss police have settled for a man in an angel suit

The Swiss city of Fribourg has dressed an actor in the angel kit, and has him standing by the side of the road waving at drivers who exceed the speed limits – which range from 60km/h in towns up to 120km/h on the highways.  Police in that area say it has the highest count of speeding infringements in the country, and they want to send a strong message to drivers, about 130 of whom die each year on Switzerland’s often mountainous roads.

"The idea is to provide a sort of concrete protection, to have a real angel telling drivers to be responsible," Fribourg police spokesman Benoît Dumas has said. "To have a physical presence like that makes the message more visible, and it's out of the ordinary."  The appearance of the ‘angel’ ties in with a television campaign for safer driving, in which a hurrying motorist runs over an angel.

The winged actor – whose name is being kept secret, possibly for fear of damaging his future theatrical career – is scheduled to make his angelic appearances for 20 hours a week in different locations around the Fribourg region until October.

There is no evidence yet that the campaign has reduced road toll or speeding. And it’s possible they might have more impact with a better-dressed figure, although hiring – for example – one of the Victoria’s Secret angels might be too expensive even for Switzerland.