By Doug Pacey / ADOT Communications

Don’t rely on luck or four-leaf clovers to stay safe on St. Patrick’s Day.

If your plans include an evening out, have fun, but make smart decisions before getting in a vehicle. Designate a driver or call a taxi or rideshare service.

Did you know that alcohol-related crashes in Arizona historically spike on St. Patrick’s Day?

To promote smart driving decisions, ADOT will display this St. Patrick’s Day-themed safety message on Dynamic Message Signs statewide.

While leprechauns might be difficult to find, state and local law enforcement will be easy to spot. The Arizona Department of Public Safety will have an enhanced presence on highways, targeting impairment and other dangerous driving behavior, and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety is working with State Troopers, police officers and deputy sheriffs on a statewide DUI enforcement campaign.

By Doug Pacey / ADOT Communications

ADOT recently revealed the 20 finalists in our Safety Message Contest. We’ll announce the winners in April, but one contest entry is being displayed on our Dynamic Message Signs this weekend before voting wraps up on Wednesday, March 15.

Huh?

Blame daylight saving time.

At 2 a.m. Sunday, March 12, billions of people worldwide will spring forward, setting their clocks ahead one hour. Meanwhile, Arizona doesn’t observe daylight saving time, and Phoenix resident Chris Ambiel conjured up a clever message that combined the twice-annual clock-changing event and seat belts.

Instantly, we loved the message. Often, our safety messages are related to holidays or current events, like popular concerts, blockbuster movie premieres and sporting events. Ambiel’s message makes that connection too, tying something everyone is familiar with, like daylight saving time, with a safety element. Did you know that about 30 percent of all people killed on Arizona’s roads each year weren’t wearing seat belts? In 2015, that equaled 258 unnecessary fatalities.

“I came up with this message because I was trying to show some humor and the importance of wearing seat belts,” Ambiel said. “It just came to mind, being that we don't turn back the clocks in Arizona or forward them for daylight saving time.”

Because contest winners will be displayed on overhead signs in April and daylight saving time occurs in March, we chose to run Ambiel’s message when it is most relevant. We’re looking forward to seeing what two finalists will be picked.

By John Halikowski / ADOT Director

We don’t need an Academy or selfie-taking accountants to tell us who has the best safety message. We want YOU to tell us who has the best entry in ADOT’s safety message contest.

With more than 7,000 submissions, there are now 20 finalists that have advanced to the next round of the contest. From speeding and impairment, texting and seat belt use, to proper use of the HOV lane and general driving safety tips, you get to decide which two messages will appear on signs above Arizona’s highways.

With so many great submissions, ADOT expanded the number of finalists from 15 to 20 and increased the winners from one to two. The winning messages will appear on overhead signs one day each in April.

I commend the creativity displayed from those Arizonans who submitted entries in our safety message contest. We want our residents to be engaged in the conversations about transportation safety. It takes all of us to be good drivers, sharing the road and obeying traffic laws, so we can reduce fatal and serious-injury vehicle crashes.

Do vote by March 15 and I promise you won’t have to worry about wrong envelopes being opened with the winning message.

This post originally appeared on ADOT Director John Halikowski's
LinkedIn page. He has led the agency since 2009.

By Doug Pacey / ADOT Communications

Voting has begun.

Earlier this week, we revealed the 20 finalists and opened voting in our Safety Message Contest. Did your message make the cut?

Selecting the finalists wasn’t easy. It took close to a week to read through the nearly 7,000 submissions and whittle the list to 20 finalists. The list has variety – funny, punny and serious – and we think everyone will find something appealing.

Voting is open March 1-15 and we’ll announce the winners – the top two vote-getters will appear on overhead signs – in April.

If your entry didn’t make the list of finalists, there’s still a chance it can find its way to an overhead sign. We have already scheduled a contest entry related to an event this month to appear on signs in March and will consider others throughout the year.

By Dallas Hammit / ADOT Deputy Director for Transportation

For more than a year, this agency has made an effort to creatively use the state’s electronic message signs in a way that not only provokes a reaction from motorists, but most importantly, sparks essential conversations about traffic safety topics, including drunk driving, seat belt safety and distracted driving.

From Star Wars references to a smart take on a controversial guacamole recipe, the messages have all made a mark, meaning the safety advice we’re trying to deliver is getting through. That has become even more evident this month after ADOT launched its first Safety Message Contest.

The entries started rolling in almost immediately — we received 4,000 in the first 24 hours. Right now, ADOT employees are working to select the top entries that will move on to the next round of public voting. The overall winning message will appear on our overhead signs for two days in April.

While this contest has offered a fun way for the public to share their creativity, it has been exciting to see so many people give their attention to transportation safety. Many of the submitted safety messages have been original and funny, but they’ve also been right on target when it comes to safety messaging, which is exactly what we were hoping for.

Of course, the whole reason why we’re using unconventional safety messaging on our overhead signs in the first place stems from a larger effort, outlined in the Arizona Strategic Highway Safety Plan. The goal of that plan is to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads in Arizona.

I hope you’ll take the cue from our messages by continuing to make safe driving a priority and to help with this agency’s effort as we work to change dangerous driving behaviors.

Editor's Note: More safety messages from Dallas Hammit, ADOT's state engineer, are available at Driving Safety Home on azdot.gov.

By Doug Pacey / ADOT Communications

After launching our Safety Message Contest last week, we’ve spent most of the past few days sifting through thousands of clever entries.

The response has been so incredible -- we received 4,000 submissions in the first 24 hours -- that we're changing the contest rules. In a good way!

Instead of whittling down to 15 finalists, we'll select 20. And instead of displaying one winning message on Dynamic Message Signs, the top two vote-getters will appear on signs for one day each in April.

Haven’t entered your winning safety message yet? There’s still time! Submissions will be accepted at azdot.gov/signcontest until Sunday, Feb. 19.

When creating your message, follow these guidelines:

• Signs accommodate three lines and 18 characters, including spaces, per line
• #Hashtags, phone numbers and website addresses are not allowed
• Signs can’t accommodate emoji

In March, we'll post the 20 finalists to our website and let the public choose the winners.