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Guardian Angel Tells Drivers to Slow Down

Police in western Russia are using an angel lookalike on local roads to caution drivers against speeding, Rossiiskaya Gazeta reported Wednesday.

Olga Mashchenko, an employee of the Kaliningrad region's traffic police, is using her angelic appearance to educate drivers about the danger of exceeding the speed limit.

Speeding drivers pulled over by the elegant creature with white wings smile when she asks them to slow down, some even try to take the angel for a ride, only to be returned to earth by frosty traffic police officers lurking nearby.

The angel appears in places known to be especially prone to accidents resulting from speeding — road intersections, pedestrian crossings and open highways — where divine intervention could help turn the rising tide of deadly accidents on Russian roads.

There have been more than 150,000 automobile accidents nationwide this year, accounting for more than 20,000 deaths, according to traffic police data.

The roadside angel is part of an educational campaign organized by the traffic police and dedicated to the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims on Sunday.

The anti-speeding campaign will continue through mid-December, Rossiiskaya Gazeta reported.

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