Sandra Safety Proves Street-Wise : She’s No Dummy in Slowing Speeders

Speeding, you spot the police cruiser just in time. You brake, then smile as you glide by the unsuspecting officer at the legal speed limit.

Another small victory in your daily escape-and-evasion routine? Not so fast.

Oceanside’s finest may have just put one over on you.

The latest addition to the city’s police force is Sandra Safety, a dummy on a mission.

The blond, life-size mannequin sits all day inside a police car parked along Oceanside streets, decked out in a patrolman’s tunic. So what if Sandra has no legs--a handle that fits into the crack of the seat keeps her from keeling over. And you will never know it as you gloat all the way home at 25 m.p.h.

Oceanside police have used the mannequin since June 1 to trick speeders into obeying the law, according to Sgt. Gene Fernandes.

The Joke’s on Speeders

The results, Fernandes said, are dramatic: “We watched for a while from an unmarked car, and the brake lights just all come on as (motorists) go creeping by at 20 miles per hour.”

Every morning, Fernandes consults his computer on the most dangerous, accident-prone spots in town. Then two officers come in to pick up Sandra and deposit her at that location. The rate of accidents there drops through the floor, Fernandes said.

“She’s just a tool that we use to slow people down,” he said. “We are always ready to try something new.”

The idea evolved when the department began parking empty cruisers at malls and department stores, eliminating shoplifting virtually overnight, according to Fernandes. When a company going out of business offered to sell the $200 mannequin for $50, Sandra came on board.

Other San Diego County police forces have not rushed to draft plastic dummies, but the concept is in use in Stockton and elsewhere in the state, said Susan Cowan-Scott, spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol in Sacramento.

“It is fair to say that we would never use it, but some local police departments do, especially ones short of manpower,” Cowan-Scott said. “Use of mannequins will be very effective in the short term, but I think one would question if it would be effective in the long term once people realize what it is.”

But Sandra is so persuasive in her new role that at least one civilian tried to get police assistance from the torso, Fernandes said. Real police officers are never too far away from the dummy in case they must step in, he added.

With Sandra around, they may never have to.