CAN'T SEE HER IF YOU'RE TEXTING...:

3-D girl a reminder for B.C. drivers in school zone (Petti Fong, 9/09/10, Toronto Star)

Driving to work Wednesday Bamshad Rahimi was ready when the pigtailed girl chasing her ball appeared again in front of his vehicle.

“This time I knew she was there,” said Rahimi. “I guess it’s working because it made me slow down. The first time I went through, it did look real. Real enough.”

Earlier in the week, along that same road on 22nd Street in West Vancouver, in front of École Pauline Johnson Elementary, Rahimi and other drivers encountered the little girl for the first time.

She’s not real but drawn in an elongated way on the road in a heat-plastered decal to look like a 3D illusion. It convinced Rahimi and other drivers like Brigitta Bonn to pay attention and drive carefully.