Dynamic Message Boards

Designating a driver is always an ‘All-Star’ move

Designating a driver is always an ‘All-Star’ move

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Designating a driver is always an ‘All-Star’ move

Designating a driver is always an ‘All-Star’ move

By Kelsey Mo / ADOT Communications
July 19, 2024
A digital message board on the highway encourages motorists to designate a driver.

If you’re driving on Arizona highways this Friday and Saturday, you may notice some of our overhead signs displaying a traffic safety message related to the WNBA All-Star Game happening in Phoenix. 

We want to grab people’s attention and engage them with important traffic safety messages. We hope this approach and these messages resonate and prompt conversations that change driver behavior so we all make better decisions behind the wheel.

It’s always a good idea to designate a driver or have a game plan of how to get home safely if you’re choosing to consume alcohol. According to crash reports collected by ADOT, there were 5,761 alcohol-related crashes and 332 fatalities in 2023.

Be an “all-star” and drive safe this weekend.

On the Road With ADOT: Our safety messaging involves much more than overhead signs

On the Road With ADOT: Our safety messaging involves much more than overhead signs

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On the Road With ADOT: Our safety messaging involves much more than overhead signs

On the Road With ADOT: Our safety messaging involves much more than overhead signs

By Steve Elliott / ADOT Communications
February 27, 2024
A digital message board on a highway displays a safety message.

ADOT’s vision is safely connecting people and empowering Arizona’s economy. That makes safety priority No. 1 whether we’re at a project site, designing a new bridge, making sure commercial vehicles can safely travel state highways and much more.

At ADOT Communications and Public Involvement, a big part of that mission is taking that safety message to the public. That includes, but is by no means limited to, those attention-grabbing and often humorous messages that appear when overhead message boards aren’t being used for other purposes. 

In the latest episode of our podcast, On the Road with ADOT, host Doug Nintzel talks about safety messaging with Doug Pacey, our Assistant Communication Director for Digital Communications. 

Unconventional safety messages received quite a bit of attention in recent months, and ADOT appreciates the Federal Highway Administration’s clarification on its guidance for safety messages use along highways. This podcast episode shares how ADOT works hard to use humor and cultural references that can be easily understood by drivers while crafting messages that help start important conversations about traffic safety. 

You can subscribe to monthly episodes of On the Road with ADOT through Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You also can find episodes at azdot.gov/Podcast and featured in ADOT Blog posts.

Drive with care out on the highways this Valentine's Day

Drive with care out on the highways this Valentine's Day

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Drive with care out on the highways this Valentine's Day

Drive with care out on the highways this Valentine's Day

By Kelsey Mo / ADOT Communications
February 14, 2024
A digital message board on the highway encourages motorists to drive with care.

It’s Valentine’s Day and we hope that today, just like every other day of the year, you’ll make safe driving decisions behind the wheel. 

Choosing to let fellow drivers merge, using your turn signals to indicate you’re switching lanes, and not texting while driving are all simple ways to show others on the road how much you care about them — that their safety, and your own, are paramount.

We can’t give out chocolates or bouquets of flowers, but Arizonans who practice safe driving have our everlasting gratitude.

Conjuring up past Halloween traffic safety messages

Conjuring up past Halloween traffic safety messages

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Conjuring up past Halloween traffic safety messages

Conjuring up past Halloween traffic safety messages

By Doug Pacey / ADOT Communications
October 31, 2023
An overhead message board displaying a traffic safety message on a highway.

For several years, ADOT has placed traffic safety messages on overhead message boards. Often, these messages relate to holidays, like Halloween, and other events that are front-of-mind for people.

Our purpose in displaying these messages is to grab people’s attention and make them engage with important traffic safety messages. We hope this approach and these messages resonate and prompt conversations among drivers, both in person and via social media, and change driver behavior.

That’s important because, according to federal statistics, more than 90% of crashes are caused by driver behavior. That includes drivers choosing to speed, drive recklessly or impaired or engaging in distractions. We all need to make better decisions behind the wheel.

This video brings back to life traffic safety messages of Halloweens past.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Arizona DOT (@arizona_dot)

Let's not be "ooky" drivers on Halloween

Let's not be "ooky" drivers on Halloween

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Let's not be "ooky" drivers on Halloween

Let's not be "ooky" drivers on Halloween

By Laurie Merrill / ADOT Communications
October 28, 2021

“They’re creepy and they're kooky.
Mysterious and spooky
They're all together ooky.”

We’re not talking about the Addams Family. 

As Halloween approaches on Sunday, Oct. 31, we’re talking about scary motorists, the creepy crawly kind who:

  • Think they’re witches who can fly over traffic, forgetting about the little Diana Taurasis, Devin Bookers and Wonder Women scurrying about amid superheroes, ghosts and goblins.
  • Think it’s okay to imbibe too many drinks from the adults-only cauldron without designating a driver, putting a zombie’s army of costume-clad candy seekers at risk.
  • Forget that on Halloween, the ghoulish streets are no place to be speeding or driving carelessly or aggressively.

Be an Ariel, not a Tazmanian Devil. Buckle your seatbelt, drive sober, go extra slowly and give yourself plenty of time to get home from your weekend errands.

Pack some patience along with that extra bag of candy. Plan ahead and remember to leave earlier. Don’t let too much sugar keep you from staying alert to the candy crush of Halloween funsters.

Take heed of these safety messages (on the right ) that we displayed on Halloweens’ past.

And, look forward to ADOT’s new Halloween safety messages, which are scheduled to debut over the weekend.

So, let’s all make a commitment not to be “ooky” drivers this year! Here’s to a safe Halloween!

For another reminder about Halloween safety that's sure to drive you batty, click here.

 

Holiday season starts with Hanukkah and safety

Holiday season starts with Hanukkah and safety

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Holiday season starts with Hanukkah and safety

Holiday season starts with Hanukkah and safety

By Caroline Carpenter / ADOT Communications
December 10, 2020

The 2020 holiday season will kick off at sundown tonight with the lighting of the menorah for the first night of Hanukkah. Each year the Jewish holiday falls on a different Gregorian calendar day. This year it marks the first of our holiday safety messages. You'll see our first safety message today with more to come before the year is over!

Many people love these safety messages, but we still get our share of naysayers. While we don't want you to be distracted while driving, we do want you engaged in highway safety. Whether you're making a positive or negative comment about our messages on social media, we're pleased they made you think twice about roadway safety. 

That being said, you can expect a few more safety messages throughout the holiday season. To get you in the holiday spirit, we're sharing a few messages from past years in our video below.

We know it's a busy time of year, but please don't be too busy to slow down, drive safely and always get a designated driver if you're out drinking. 

Looking back at past Safety Message Contest winners

Looking back at past Safety Message Contest winners

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Looking back at past Safety Message Contest winners

Looking back at past Safety Message Contest winners

By Doug Pacey / ADOT Communications
August 14, 2020

ADOT announced the winners of our Safety Message Contest earlier this week, marking the completion of our fourth annual contest. Back in 2017, when we launched the first one, we weren’t sure how it would go – would it be successful or totally ignored?

The answer came quickly when we received about 3,000 submissions in the first 24 hours. In total, more than 17,000 traffic safety messages have been entered over the years and nine have been voted winners by the public. The competition is steep, but you’re much more likely to win this contest – about 1 in 1,889 entries is a winner – than the lottery.

What we like most about the contest is the public engagement it generates. We truly enjoy seeing the ideas people come up with and hope they continue these traffic safety-themed conversations with their families, friends and coworkers.

We also fill with pride when other states use Arizona’s winning messages on their own message boards – Iowa DOT used one of our first winning messages last summer.

Here’s a look at the past winners in our Safety Message Contest.

ADOT reveals winners of Safety Message Contest

ADOT reveals winners of Safety Message Contest

I-17 101 traffic interchange

ADOT reveals winners of Safety Message Contest

ADOT reveals winners of Safety Message Contest

August 11, 2020

PHOENIX – A mystery person and a husband-and-wife team of a hero hiker and a kindergarten teacher are the winners of ADOT’s Safety Message Contest.

More than 5,500 votes were cast by the public for the 12 message finalists. The top two vote-getters and winners are:

SIGNAL AND

READY TO MINGLE

 

RED FISH

BLUE FISH

SPEEDING’S FOOLISH

“We’ve been amazed at the level of public interest each time we’ve held this contest and this year is no different,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “Thousands of Arizonans sent us their messages and thousands more voted for their favorite. The purpose of displaying unconventional safety messages is to get people engaged and talking about making safer and smarter decisions behind the wheel. In that respect, this effort is a success.”

The identity of the author of “signal and ready to mingle” is unknown. Contest entrants have the option to include contact information when they submit their message, but contact information is not required and none was included with this entry. This is the first time in four years a winning message has gone uncredited in ADOT’s Safety Message Contest.

Scott and Paula Cullymore of Mesa teamed up to create the Seussian “red fish, blue fish, speeding’s foolish” message.

“It was almost to the deadline and I asked my wife, who’s a kindergarten teacher, if she had any ideas,” Scott said. “She said, ‘This week is Dr. Seuss Week,’ and that’s how the message came to be. She gets all the credit.”

Encouraging safe and smart behavior isn’t new to Scott. An avid hiker, he’s been known to hand out bottled water to dehydrated hikers on Camelback Mountain. He’s hopeful the message results in fewer speeders.

“This message is short and fast and you can read it almost without thinking,” he said. “Hopefully, it sticks with people.”

These winning messages will be displayed on overhead message boards at a later date. Currently, message boards are displaying regular traffic information and COVID-19 safety messages.

More than 4,000 messages were submitted to the contest this year. ADOT whittled the entries down to 12 finalists and a public vote determined the winning messages. 

ADOT displays unconventional safety messages on Dynamic Message Signs as part of an effort to change driver behavior and encourage motorists to make better decisions while driving. According to national statistics, driver behavior, like choosing to speed, driving distracted, impaired or reckless, plays a role in more than 90% of vehicle crashes.

Vote for the winner in ADOT’s Safety Message Contest

Vote for the winner in ADOT’s Safety Message Contest

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Vote for the winner in ADOT’s Safety Message Contest

Vote for the winner in ADOT’s Safety Message Contest

By Doug Pacey / ADOT Communications
May 13, 2020

Earlier this week, ADOT announced the 12 finalists in our 2020 Safety Message Contest. You can view the messages and vote for your favorite through Sunday, May 17 at azdot.gov/signcontest.

ADOT received more than 4,000 message entries in the contest this year. We considered a few factors when whittling that big number down to a dozen messages. First, we wanted the finalists to represent a variety of safety topics. These messages we selected cover car seats, distracted driving, drowsy driving, speeding, turn signals and more.

We also wanted the finalists  to have different tones. Some are serious and straightforward, some rhyme, some are funny (we think so, at least) and some use a play on words or puns. 

No matter your interest in topic or tone, we think there’s something for everyone. So, check out the messages and vote for your favorite. We’ll display the top two vote-getters on dynamic message signs statewide.

ADOT message boards encourage stopping the spread of COVID-19

ADOT message boards encourage stopping the spread of COVID-19

I-17 101 traffic interchange

ADOT message boards encourage stopping the spread of COVID-19

ADOT message boards encourage stopping the spread of COVID-19

March 25, 2020

PHOENIX – Beginning Wednesday, motorists on Arizona highways will see messages on Dynamic Message Signs encouraging them to stop the spread of COVID-19.

The Arizona Department of Transportation’s overhead message boards will rotate messages daily that encourage social distancing, like avoiding crowds and limiting travel, and good hygiene, like washing hands and covering coughs.

“Arizona continues to take proactive measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health and safety of Arizona citizens,” said Governor Doug Ducey. “These messages reflect guidance from public health professionals and will help us keep Arizonans informed during this time.”

The messages will be displayed indefinitely on ADOT’s 291 overhead message boards statewide.

For more information about what Arizona is doing during the COVID-19 outbreak, visit ArizonaTogether.org, which serves as the central location for Arizonans to find help or provide support. Arizonans can also call the Arizona COVID-19 Hotline by dialing 211. The hotline will operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.