By John Halikowski / ADOT Director

You did it again, Arizona!

For the second year in a row, your entries in the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Safety Message Contest were fantastic. Your messages made us laugh, smile and showed us how safe driving affects all of us.

We received about 2,200 submissions in the first phase of the contest, which ended Feb. 27. The second phase of the contest began when we revealed the 15 finalists and opened up voting to the public. Voting will continue through Monday, Mar. 26, and can be done at azdot.gov/signcontest.

Like last year, the top two vote-getters will be declared winners and their authors will be invited to our Traffic Operations Center where they’ll be able to type their safety message into our system and send it to overhead signs across Arizona.

So, please, do your civic duty, vote today and support safe driving!

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

By Tom Herrmann / ADOT Communications

As Sonora dedicated a safety corridor Monday along Federal 8 between Lukeville and Puerto Peñasco, Arizona leaders including ADOT Director John Halikowski (fourth from the right with a white shirt and tie) helped mark the occasion.

Traveling to Sonoyta, just south of the border, these Arizonans joined Sonora officials in recognizing a binational effort that led to the safety corridor.

Corredor Seguro Sign

They noted that Arizonans will benefit from Mexico's safety corridor as they head to the beaches of Rocky Point, while Sonora residents will benefit when they head to Sonoyta and visit Arizona.

This partnership, they said, is about increasing safety and working together with mutual respect.

Resulting from a joint agreement signed by Governor Doug Ducey and Sonora Governor Claudia Pavlovich at a summit held in Rocky Point in December, the safety corridor includes road signs with safety messages in Spanish and English and a pilot program that will have Sonora sharing information from that area to 511 and ADOT’s Arizona Traveler Information site, az511.gov.

ADOT representatives visited Mexico to train first responders and government officials on Traffic Incident Management, which promotes quickly clearing incident scenes when appropriate while safeguarding motorists and emergency workers. Traffic Incident Management techniques have been shown to reduce secondary crashes that often are more serious than the initial incidents.

“Our long-standing partnership with Mexico is as strong as ever and this safety corridor between Arizona and Sonora is a great example of how cross-border collaboration helps promote safety and tourism for everyone,” Governor Ducey said in a news release. “Governor Pavlovich has been an incredible partner on this safety corridor and I thank her for all of her efforts.”

By John Halikowski / ADOT Director

Collaboration among Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, Sonoran Governor Claudia Pavlovich, the Arizona-Mexico Commission, and my transportation counterparts in Sonora, ADOT has been excited to support the Sonoran government with the creation of a safety corridor for Mexico Route 8 between Lukeville and the beaches in Puerto Peñasco. This safety corridor effort will enhance safety on the road to Rocky Point.

The safety corridor is expected to be in place before spring break in March. The corridor will include a safety analysis of the road and signs with safety messages in both Spanish and English. Mexican first responders, military and government officials have been trained by ADOT personnel on how to remove crashes quickly from the two-lane highway, restore traffic flow and reduce secondary crashes that often occur when roads are blocked by using our Traffic Incident Management techniques (tim.az.gov).

The idea of the safety corridor came about from our ADOT-sponsored truck safety courses in Hermosillo, Sonora. ADOT saw the opportunity to collaborate on an important safety issue that has the potential to benefit both U.S. and Mexican citizens.

In addition to the safety corridor, we will be integrating Sonora traffic incidents into the Arizona 511 Traffic Information Systems (az511.gov) to assist drivers on both sides of the border.

Collaboration between Arizona and Sonora is what made the safety corridor a reality. It speaks to the strong working relationship we have developed to improve transportation, tourism and trade for the region.

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

By Doug Pacey / ADOT Communications

As motorists travel on Arizona’s state highways on Feb. 14, they’ll see a Valentine’s Day safety message displayed on overhead signs.

Making the choice to drive safely is one of the best ways to show loved ones how much they’re cared for. More than 90 percent of vehicle collisions are caused by driver decisions, including speeding, driving aggressively, distracted or impaired, meaning nearly all crashes are probably preventable.

We can’t promise candy hearts or roses to safe drivers, but we’ll be a not-so-secret admirer of those who make smart and safe decisions behind the wheel.

By Doug Pacey / ADOT Communications

In the time it takes you to read this sentence, if you were driving a car at 55 mph, you’d have traveled about the length of a football field.

Think you could drive that distance and avoid anything – another vehicle, an animal or a young child chasing a ball – that travels into your path with your eyes not watching the road?

Probably not.

Every day during the month of February in Arizona, on average, there are about 48 distracted driving-related crashes. And those are only the ones that are reported – the actual crash total is believed to be much larger because many drivers do not admit to being distracted after causing a collision.

All of those crashes are preventable. When drivers take attention away from the task at hand – safely steering a 2-ton block of metal, plastic and glass – they endanger themselves, fellow motorists and pedestrians.

Distracted driving takes many forms – texting, turning and talking to passengers, and scrolling through playlists to find the perfect song are all examples.

Make smart decisions when driving. Keep your focus on the road ahead and your vehicle’s surroundings so everyone can safely reach their destination.

As we wrap up the year, we’re taking a look back at the overhead message boards we posted throughout 2017. Here’s a sample of those signs and your chance to tell us which one was your favorite. Swipe right for the signs you prefer and left for the ones you don’t.

While you’ve been shopping for the holiday and enjoying time with the family, ADOT elves have been posting holiday safety messages on electronic boards across the state. Let us know which signs were “hot” or “cold” by swiping right for those signs you like and left for those that leave you “cold.”

By Doug Pacey / ADOT Communications

Unless you’re taking the reins of a magical flying sleigh with nine reindeer, there’s no need to speed this weekend. Slow down, obey speed limits and secure your spot on Santa’s Nice List.

As you travel Arizona’s highways in the days leading up to Christmas, you’ll see safe-driving holiday-themed reminders on our overhead signs to slow down and buckle up. The first message riffs on the popular movie, “A Christmas Story.”

Before hitting the highways, download the ADOT Alerts app – it’s free for iOS and Android devices – so you’ll know if highways near you are affected by a major, unplanned event, like a crash-related closure or severe weather.

And here’s an early Christmas gift from all of us at ADOT: No highway closures are scheduled during the Christmas and New Year’s weekends.

By John Halikowski / ADOT Director

When it comes to reducing the number of vehicle crashes, fatalities and serious injuries, real change has to begin in the driver’s seat. Irresponsible drivers that are drunk, drugged, distracted or who think speed limits are a "suggestion" will continue to hurt and kill our loved ones unless we all start doing something about it. We choose how we behave behind the wheel. To make our roads safer, we must choose to take responsibility and keep drunks and drug-impaired people from getting behind the wheel.

This is especially important when trying to prevent wrong-way crashes. About two-thirds of all wrong-way drivers are impaired by alcohol, illegal drugs or prescription medication. These people have no business getting behind the wheel. Yet, impaired drivers remain a leading factor in fatal crashes of all kinds.

On the engineering side, the Arizona Department of Transportation will do everything we can to reduce wrong-way crashes. The first-in-the-nation wrong-way detection pilot project on Interstate 17 is in testing and will be operational in early 2018. We’ve also installed hundreds of "wrong way" signs on highway ramps and overpasses.

And earlier this week, in partnership with the Department of Public Safety and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, ADOT launched "Drive Aware, Get There," a wrong-way awareness safety campaign. The goal of “Drive Aware, Get There,” is simple: educate drivers on what they can do to increase their safety when driving at night, what to do if they encounter a wrong-way vehicle and what actions to take if they see an overhead sign warning of a wrong-way vehicle ahead.

We all must work together to reduce wrong-way crashes. Please do your part and keep impaired people from getting behind the wheel during the holiday party season and throughout the year.

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

By Caroline Carpenter / ADOT Communications

"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" premieres today, and many driving to the theater will see the latest installment of related safety messages on our overhead highway signs.

Many love seeing these messages. Some don't. Either way, they're always talked about. And that's what we want – messages that kick off conversations about safe driving.

This isn't the first time we've linked the popular movies to highway safety. Last year, ADOT offered Star Wars-related messages calling attention to the dangers of distracted driving.

Join the rebellion against distracted driving

If you're a Star Wars superfan, you'll want to make sure you check out the first Star Wars message we posted a couple of years ago.

Whether you're headed to see the movie or not, we hope you'll follow the way of the Jedi and stay focused on getting there safely.