POLSON, Mont. – A grandmother in Montana is an honorary state trooper after she went viral on social media for a photo showing her holding a hair dryer like a radar gun to get people to slow down on a road near her home.
Patti Baumgartner wants cars on South Finely Point to slow down for people's safety.
"They forget to slow down, and there are a lot of people that are complaining about that they can't walk or ride their bikes," she said. "I wouldn't even attempt riding a bike around."
Patti's son took the now-viral picture of her and tweeted it out to Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Noah
Pesola, hoping to catch his attention. And it did.
"I thought it was hilarious," Pesola told KPAX. "I think that we have a speed issue in Montana and I thought it was a great creative idea for the public to try and combat that a little bit without making people too upset."
Pesola liked it so much he gave Baumgartner a special title: honorary trooper.
"It's not an official or anything like that for the honorary trooper, which is kinda what I called it," he said.
"I didn't know what else to do for her, when she's doing something for the community and like she says she's got grandkids in the area so she's doing something for her grandkids' benefit. The best thing I could think of was give her a trooper hat and a badge to make her look a little more official."
Baumgartner says she can't tell if her white hair dryer really slowed cars down, but she plans on using it again to bring awareness to speeding cars in the neighborhood.