Venezuela Hires Mimes To Curb Bad Traffic Habits

In a bold move, the Venezuelan government is employing mimes to encourage drivers to comply with the law in the Caracas municipality of Sucre. Instead of a traffic cop, harlequinesque people in white gloves and face paint have been sent into the streets to wag their fingers at traffic violators and jaywalkers, reports the Associated Press.

While it may seem like an unusual approach to enforcing traffic laws, Venezuela is following in the footsteps of several other countries in central and South America that have trained mimes in a bid to control traffic. Antanas Mockus, the former mayor of Bogota, Colombia, is considered to be the pioneer of this movement when he hired 420 traffic mimes to mock and shame drivers as part of a successful campaign to tame the city’s lawless traffic. Mimes have also been used in Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, and in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

According to the Associated Press,

The mimes found plenty to keep them busy in a city where motorcycle riders roar down sidewalks, buses drop passengers in the middle of busy streets and drivers treat red lights and speed limits as suggestions rather than orders.

Associated Press: Shhh! Mimes Tackle Traffic Chaos In Venezuela