I'm looking for ideas to give my home owners association that will
help solve the problem of speeders on our residential roads.  I live
in California, in the mountains.

We get snow, so speed bumps interfere with the plows.

From what they tell me, stop signs are unenforceable because the roads
are "Private", and posted as such.  So is the speed of 25mph, but that
doesn't seem to matter to some drivers.

(I've considered moonlighting as a sniper, but I enjoy my freedom too
much)

Seriously, though, it's really quite infuriating; I'd like to be able
to give the association as much information as I can, to encourage
them to bring an end to this disregard for safety.

Thanks tons.

Thanks for your very interesting question! We have the same problem in
our neighborhood, but luckily, we do have police that patrol. I live
in Northern Nevada, and there are MANY speed bumps here, and they do
not seem to interfere with the plowing at all. However, there are
several other alternatives that may help you.

New IIHS Study Points to Cameras in Reducing Speeding
http://www.insurancejournal.com/html/ijweb/breakingnews/national/na0502/na0506023.htm
You might want to install cameras at some critical areas, and make it
known to the residents they are there, and will be used to combat
speeding.

Traffic Calming
http://www.daniweber.com/Trafficcalming.html
This idea began in the UK, and has spread to the US. This page has
numerous reports and ideas on how to "remake" your residential streets
so that speeding is reduced. "Traffic calming is typically implemented
to address speeding and external traffic concerns. It is intuitively
recognized that successful traffic calming would therefore result in
safety benefits." (From the web site). There are also links to
communities who are using this method, and to traffic calming devices.

Some solutions from the City of Fort Worth
http://www.fortworthgov.org/cmo/pio/citypage/2001/cp20011015.asp
Rubber cushions — rubber pads installed in three separate sections
across the roadway; unlike speed humps, allow fire trucks to pass
between the cushions and avoid slowing down in an emergency

Traffic circles — primarily used as speed-control devices within
intersections of two wide streets

Medians — serve to narrow the travel lane and induce lower speeds 

Midblock chokers — between intersections, allow two-way traffic while
forcing motorists to slow down to maneuver between the devices
Intersection chokers — narrow streets at an intersection to reduce the
width of the traveled way while maintaining two-way traffic movement

Chicanes — series of chokers, alternating from one side of the street
to the other, reducing speeding by creating the impression of a
meandering street
Raised crosswalks — like speed humps but with a flat surface in the
center to provide a crossing area for pedestrians

Semi-diverters — barriers at an intersection approach that prevent
traffic in one direction while maintaining the street two-way just
beyond the choker
Diagonal diverters — barriers placed diagonally across an intersection
to convert it into two unconnected streets, generally forming
90-degree turns

Street closures — barriers to all through-traffic; must provide a
turnaround at one end for utility and waste-management vehicles (From
the City of Fort Worth Street Safety Web Site.)

Here is tne National Department of Transportation Report on Speeding.
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/aggressive/unsafe/counter/Chapt2.html
They list many countermeasures, including increasing public awareness
of the problem, and asking residents to cooperate. They also mention
that other residents might keep track of the speeders. This could be
accomplished by regular messages in the association newsletter, if you
have one. The remainder of the report deals mostly with citing and
fining the drivers. You might be able to add an element to your CC&R's
about speeding, and fining homeowners.

"Speeding and excessive speed is widely recognised as a major
contributor to road crashes - reducing speeds by only 1mph is likely
to reduce the total number of crashes by 5%. Whilst most people see
speeding by other drivers as a problem they rarely see fault in their
own driving." From:
http://www.northlincs.gov.uk/roadsafety/speed.htm

If your local police department has one of those radar signs that
shows the driver's current speed, you might ask them to post it in
your neighborhood, so residents can see how fast they are actually
going, and make them more aware. Numerous sites have mentioned that
eduction and understanding the dangers of speeding are two of the most
successful ways in getting people to slow down.

You might call your local public works or streets department. Even
though you are privately owned, they might come out and help you study
the problem and find a solution. Many city web sites said their public
works departments would perform this service.
If you happen to live near Sacramento, here is an article about what
they do:
http://www.sacpublicworks.net/Word%20Docs/transportation.doc

An Example of Community-based Speed Education Initiatives:
http://www.transport.sa.gov.au/nsrsc/pdfs/F5d.pdf
A report on what worked, and what did not. (From New Zealand, but very
informative.)

Good luck in your quest to slow down unsafe drivers! I hope this
information is helpful. Please let me know if I can help in any other
way.
nvwriter-ga

Thanks for a lot of helpful info!  I'll print all that data and have a
boatload of facts to back me up!

Glad I could help!!

A public road in Nashua, NH was recently "fixed up" to slow down
traffic.  It has been a very controversial issue.  Following is a
quote from the local newspaper.

"Sunday, May 19, 2002

Nashua ... From The Inside: Traffic cure comes with side effects

Tony Estrada says the city’s effort to slow down traffic in his
neighborhood has been like medicine.

“It has cured some of the problem, but it has side effects,” he said.

Estrada, of 12 Middle Dunstable Road, and other residents of the road
have a year’s perspective to look back on the traffic-calming devices
constructed as a pilot program in their neighborhood – from a small
traffic circle to “speed humps,” although someone took offense at the
off-color connotation of that phrase and the sign was changed to
protect the sensitive.

Several of the neighbors ignored a downpour on Monday and talked at
the Division of Public Works conference room.

Overall, the perception was positive. Kind of.

There have been those side effects.

Garbage has been tossed along the road into yards. Shrimp was even
tossed on one lawn.

Angry drivers have voiced their displeasure by leaning on their horns
while traveling the road well after sundown. (The good news is that
police have been parking unmarked cars in some of the driveways to nab
the offenders. One was caught recently.)

“I think it worked,” Stu Freedman of 3 Middle Dunstable Road said of
the devices. His perception is that the annoying honking is becoming
less frequent.

As evidence of how desperate residents and city officials are to slow
down traffic, the Board of Aldermen approved five ordinances this week
alone dealing with traffic-calming measures"

It is easy to become annoyed driving down this road but there are
alternatives...

Hope you are successful in your fight for greater safety.

seedy

Regarding the plows used in northern Nevada...

Can you guide me to info on them?

TIA

Sure, the City of Reno and State of Nevada both use plows on
residential streets and the highways. Speed bumps have become very
popular here, they are in many shopping centers and in the condos
where I used to live. (So I understand your situation with the private
roads.) The plows just seem to slow down and go right over them. These
are all-front mounted plows, on the front of sand-dropping dump
trucks.
Here's the Nevada DOT Public Information Officer  (775) 888-7777