Star Trek-themed transportation safety messages

By Doug Pacey / ADOT Communications

Boldly go where no one has gone before this weekend on Arizona highways and you will see Star Trek-themed safety messages on overhead signs.

They read:

The Arizona Department of Transportation’s safety messages coincide with the film release of Star Trek Beyond and the 50th anniversary of the television series. The messages speak to the highly illogical choice to engage in dangerous driving decisions, like driving drunk. Alcohol was a factor in the deaths of 295 people killed in traffic crashes last year in Arizona.

Uninformed people might think they’re OK to drive after having a couple drinks in couple hours, believing their blood-alcohol content is below the legal limit of 0.08 percent. Yet, as Spock says in “Space Seed,” Season 1, Episode 22 of Star Trek, “Insufficient facts always invite danger.”

Consider this fact: Two drinks in two hours might leave your BAC below 0.08 percent – depending on your body type – but it can still impair driving ability and earn you a DUI. In Arizona, which has some of the strictest impaired driving laws in the country, you can receive a DUI if a police officer observes erratic driving and finds that your BAC was below 0.08 percent. Don’t give an officer a reason to say, “Sensor readings are off the scale, sir!”

Don’t make driving a Kobayashi Maru Test. You can beat that no-win scenario by driving sober. Make logical driving decisions and you will “live long and prosper.”