Cheeky barber dons hi-vis jacket and uses hairdryer as radar gun to trick speeding motorists
Reduce your speed! Cheeky hairdresser puts on hi-vis jacket and uses hairdryer as a radar gun to deceive speeding motorists
- Paul Johnson, 51, tricks drivers into thinking his hairdryer is a radar gun
- He initially only performed the prank for a few minutes, but now does it regularly
A sassy hairdresser takes speeding offenses to the extreme – by giving them a blow-dry.
Paul Johnson decided to take action after becoming concerned about drivers not slowing down on a one-way system outside his store.
Between customers, he puts on a safety vest and stands on the sidewalk, pointing his hair dryer at the traffic and tricking motorists into thinking it’s a radar gun.
The father-of-three, 51, initially performed the prank for only a few minutes, but was shocked when passing cars began to slow down.
He said it was such a success that he kept repeating the trick on a regular basis.
Cheeky hairdresser Paul Johnson, 51, tricks drivers into thinking his hair dryer is a speedgun
The father-of-three entices drivers to slow down between customers at his shop (pictured) in Northwich, Cheshire
Mr Johnson, who has worked as a hairdresser for 37 years, said he has even received requests to take his hair dryer with him to fool speeding motorists on other roads nearby.
He revealed that the prank was a result of joking with one of his stylists.
Mr Johnson, whose shop is in Northwich, Cheshire, said: ‘The idea came from one of our stylists called Lee.
‘He’s going on holiday to France soon and you have to have a hi-vis jacket in your car in France in case you break down.
“I decided to try one on and I just stood outside messing around, pointing the hair dryer at cars and everyone slowed down and looked at me.”
The hairdresser said that outside there are usually ‘quite a lot of speeding motorists’ on the 50 km/h road.
He said when motorists realize they’ve been misled, they usually take it in good spirits.
He said, “They all just start laughing and squealing.”
One motorist who got into trouble with the law thanks to Mr Johnson’s prank was Kyle Dunne, who had driven past the salon on his motorcycle.
Paul Johnson, 51, (pictured) now dons his hi-vis jacket and pulls the prank regularly
The prankster said the idea for the trick came after walking around with one of his stylists at his barbershop (pictured) in Northwitch, Cheshire.
Mr. Dunne believed the barber was holding a real radar speed gun and immediately put the brakes on the fear of getting points on his driver’s license.
The 31-year-old said: ‘I slowed down to 20 mph. I have six points on my license on my motorcycle, so I have to be careful these days.
“I kept looking at my dash to check and I was only going 20 mph and I didn’t know what was going on.
“And then he turned the hairdryer to the side so I could see what it was, and I burst out laughing – I knew I’d been tricked.”
But Mr. Dunne, the owner of a bodyshop and paint shop, added: “I think it was a really good idea because it makes people aware of what they’re doing without consequence – and a bit of fun too.”
To make up for his cheeky joke, Mr. Johnson tracked down Mr. Dunne on Facebook and offered him a free haircut.
Mr Johnson, who was praised on social media, added: ‘It’s just good and in a way a bit of publicity for the company.
“Some people have asked me to stand in other parts of the city and do fake speed shots there.”
Commenting on a photo of Mr Johnson posing with the ‘speed gun’ hair dryer, one Facebook user said: ‘Well done, Paul. Why don’t others think of that?’