It’s that time of year when all of us are asked what we’re grateful for. And if you asked us, we’d say we’re thankful for motorists who practice safe driving.
If you’re on Arizona highways over the Thanksgiving holiday, you may notice traffic safety messages on our overhead message boards that encourage you to drive with care, slow down, designate a driver and use your blinkers. We put up these messages in hopes that it engages drivers and ultimately changes their behavior behind the wheel, making travel safer for everyone.
It’s particularly relevant over Thanksgiving weekend as Arizonans travel to gather with friends and family. In 2023, there were 14 fatal crashes across Arizona roads, including 3 alcohol-related fatal crashes over the Thanksgiving holiday period, according to crash reports from law enforcement and compiled by ADOT.
Indulge in too much pecan pie and mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving and enjoy all the leftovers through the weekend, Arizona. Drive safe!
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.
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
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.
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
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
By Doug Pacey / ADOT Communications
October 31, 2023
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.
“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.
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
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.
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
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.
