The residents living on various neighborhood streets argue that for too long they have been the unwilling beneficiaries of a higher-than-normal volume of traffic, with motorists consistently driving more than 10 mph over the allowable speed limit. Now these citizens want the city to do more than just send out the radar guns or police patrols. They want permanent changes made in their neighborhoods in the form of impediments or better signage.

Residents living near the intersection of Bird Avenue and Willow Glen Way are scared for their life when it comes to crossing the street. Motorists will often completely disregard their presence in the crosswalk and drive right through without yielding the right of way. These citizens want the city to put in a stop sign. A similar disregard for foot traffic is also a common cry on Lincoln Avenue, as cars continue to barrel up the avenue even with all the traffic calming and neon pedestrian signs poking out of the road. Many residents say that driving behavior has evolved beyond impolite and has turned dangerous.

But even when solutions such as better signage or impediments are implemented, they don't always produce the wanted results. And there is no guarantee that the problem won't simply shift to other streets, triggering a new round of problems and demands. Place a stop sign at one corner and drivers find another street that is quicker. Place a traffic light at one intersection and drivers look for another street so they can avoid having to stop.

Traffic controls create the ultimate domino factor. Yet no one will deny that when the police are out in force—visibly patrolling or ticketing drivers with radar—drivers quickly change their patterns and slow down. And residents have a right to request that a city show a presence when neighborhood traffic problems veer out of control.

The trick—no matter what the solutions—is to get these drivers to change their habits permanently. To educate people that their car is a lethal weapon. To understand that in the blink of an eye they might kill a pedestrian, passenger, motorist or even themselves. It's a familiar story that law enforcement has been trying to teach teenagers for years. But as adults those lessons are quickly forgotten, as we rush to work, rush to take our children to school or hurry to get home. The city of San Jose has plastered some great slogans through its Street Smarts Campaign on the back of various buses: "Want to meet cops? Drive fast" or "Put the other pedal to the metal."

But it's obviously not enough. So short of those stops signs, red lights, and campaign slogans, perhaps the easiest reminder is the one that should hit close to home—remembering how we want motorists to drive down our street or neighborhood and then drive the same way through theirs.