By John Halikowski / ADOT Director

Traffic fatalities on Arizona’s local roads and state highways climbed higher for the second straight year. Driver behavior continues to be the leading factor in motor vehicle collisions.

Making travel safer begins before drivers turn the ignition. Too many people make the deadly decision to drive impaired, whether by alcohol, prescription pills or other drugs, and put all of us at risk. None of us should accept this selfish behavior and it’s everyone’s business to stop impaired drivers from getting behind the wheel. I’m asking all of us take the initiative and drive safely behind the wheel.

In 2016, 962 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes, 65 more than the year before, representing a 7.3 percent increase. The number of collisions also went up, rising 8.6 percent to 126,845. These increases follow national trends.

If motorists made better choices like wearing a seat belt, paying attention, obeying speed limits, and not driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, lives would be saved. I know you would agree with me that we all have a responsibility to make wise choices when driving.

If you would like to learn more about our state’s statistics, the Arizona Department of Transportation publishes an annual Motor Vehicle Crash Facts report. You can find the 2016 report at azdot.gov/CrashFacts.

Please join me in sharing these important statistics with family, friends and neighbors. Let’s all do our part to decrease the number of fatalities and crashes in Arizona.

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

By Tom Herrmann / ADOT Communications

The plan: Use cutting-edge technology to identify when dust storms might be forming and let the public and media know when and where. Activate signs in the area where dust storms are most likely to encourage drivers to get off the road.

But this was 1973, and technology wasn't ready to keep up with engineers’ imaginations. According to Desert Dust: Origins, Characteristics and Effect on Man, edited by Arizona State University geologist Troy Pewer, an analysis performed in 1975 showed that warning signs were unable to keep up with changing weather conditions.

“The time delay between field observation and sign activation or status change resulted in warning messages displayed when they were unwarranted, or no warning messages displayed when dust was blowing,” he wrote. Even if the warnings had been accurate, many drivers ignored them: 66 percent reported that they made driving decisions based only on the weather outside their windshield.

A redesigned warning system in 1976 gave only general warnings and alerted drivers through announcements on three commercial radio stations. An analysis determined that, despite limited data, the warnings made it less likely drivers would be involved dust-related crashes.

Fast forward.

As Monsoon 2017 begins, ADOT is getting ready to seek bids for work on a pilot dust detection and warning system that will use many of the same principles as that 1973 program.

The difference this time: 21st century technology.

By late 2019 or early 2020, a 10-mile section of Interstate 10 near Picacho will have a detection system that will identify reduced visibility along the freeway and look into the distance for approaching storms. Warnings signs, overhead messages and reduced speed limits will activate automatically. Traffic operators will monitor the situation via closed-circuit cameras.

Just as in past decades, turning a good idea into safer freeways when dust blows will depend on what drivers do with the information. ADOT has been asking drivers to Pull Aside, Stay Alive since 2011, and that applies whether you're driving through between mileposts 209 and 219 on I-10 or anywhere else in Arizona.

By Doug Pacey / ADOT Communications

Everyone knows it’s dangerous to drive into a massive, towering dust storm. It’s easy to avoid these because they can be seen miles in the distance, giving drivers the opportunity to exit a highway or choose a different route.

But what about blowing dust that whips across the freeway and engulfs your vehicle in low or no visibility without warning? These are called dust channels, fast-moving blowing dust events that can cause serious crashes because they give drivers little or no time to respond.

If you encounter a dust channel – or one encounters you – follow the Pull Aside, Stay Alive tips:

• Avoid driving into or through a dust storm.
• If you encounter a dust storm, immediately check traffic around your vehicle and begin slowing down.
• Do not wait until poor visibility makes it difficult to safely pull off the roadway – do it as soon as possible.
• Do not stop in a travel lane or in the emergency lane. Look for a safe place to pull completely off the paved portion of the highway.
• Turn off all vehicle lights, including emergency flashers. You do not want other vehicles approaching from behind to use your lights as a guide, possibly crashing into your parked vehicle.
• Set emergency brake and take foot off the brake.
• Stay in vehicle with seat belts buckled and wait for the storm to pass

While blowing dust can occur anywhere in Arizona, there’s a stretch of Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Tucson where dust channels often suddenly develop. Half of all blowing dust-related crashes on I-10 occur within a half-mile of milepost 214, northwest of Picacho Peak. In response, ADOT is in the process of installing a first-of-its-kind dust detection zone from mileposts 209-219.

By Dallas Hammit / ADOT Deputy Director for Transportation

ADOT works to plan, build and maintain the state’s transportation system — but we don’t just do it for motorists. We’re responsible for creating a system that accounts for the needs of bicyclists and pedestrians, too.

As drivers, we also need to remember that the roads aren’t always just for motorized vehicles. Likewise, when we’re bicycling or walking, it is critical for us to be attentive and careful of the vehicles we’re traveling near.

Sharing the road is an obligation we all have to each other.

If you’re looking to review the rules and improve your skills when it comes to sharing the road, ADOT has a great resource. It’s the ADOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Program website, azbikeped.org.

There, you’ll find plenty of helpful information, including guides focused on safety.

Even if you’ve been to the site previously, I encourage you to check it out again. Just recently, it has been updated and completely redesigned, allowing users to more easily find what they’re looking for.

Sharing the Road with Peds

In the coming weeks and months, an updated “Sharing the Road with Pedestrians” guide will be published on the site, along with a brand new, interactive Cycle Arizona bicycle user map.

Besides providing educational resources like the website, ADOT also studies how pedestrians and bicyclists use the state system. Improvements based on safety are often made, including the installation of countdown pedestrian signals and the increased use of pedestrian hybrid beacons — both examples of traffic control devices that better assist pedestrians in crossing a street or highway.

As always, I hope you’ll think about your own habits and take the opportunity to talk with your loved ones about this topic. Encourage them to make safe decisions.

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

It’s something that takes an extra few minutes and can save a life: Secure your load.

Secure your load signed proclamation

On Tuesday, June 6, the Maricopa Association of Governments, Arizona Department of Public Safety and Governor’s Office of Highway Safety came together at an ADOT Maintenance Yard to recognize Secure Your Load Day in Arizona, as proclaimed by Governor Doug Ducey (click the icon at right to read the proclamation).

Surrounding them was debris collected from highways, including mattresses, furniture, a refrigerator, ladders, wooden pallets and more. One mangled couch never made it home from the furniture store, its tags still attached.

Meanwhile, ADOT's overhead signs shared this message: “SECURE YOUR LOAD, SAVE LIVES.”

Not only can debris be deadly for motorists, it puts law enforcement and road workers in the dangerous position of having to remove items while vehicles speed by.

Tie-downs, netting, bungee cords, ropes, straps and tarps all can keep your belongings in your vehicle and off the road, making travel safer for everyone.

By John Halikowski / ADOT Director

Congratulations to the 2017 graduates, both in high school and college! It is an exciting time. For high school graduates, it is a time for them to spread their wings, whether it is attending an in- or out-of-state four-year college, a community college, vocational program or military service. For college graduates and a degree in hand, it is the time to use that knowledge to work in a chosen field. Whatever these graduates do, it comes down to making wise choices.

As a parent, we try to instill in our children the importance of making wise choices; if not, there always are consequences when a wrong choice is made. That is ever-so-true when it comes to driving. So many things can go wrong if a young driver doesn’t wear a seat belt, is distracted while driving, is impaired due to alcohol or drugs, or speeding. As the father of two sons, I understand the role we, parents, play in making sure our children are safe drivers and that they make wise choices behind the wheel.

Here is a sobering statistic. Young drivers, age 16-24, were involved in 19 fatal crashes (alcohol-related or otherwise) in May 2016, resulting in 20 fatalities. That means 20 people are not here today, living their dreams, because someone made a wrong choice.

I would say to the graduates celebrate your accomplishment but be wise. Don’t drink and drive. Use a designated driver or other modes like transit, light rail, taxi or Lyft/Uber. Wear a seat belt. Obey speed limits. Show your parents you listened to them; make wise choices.

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

By Doug Pacey / ADOT Communications

The wait is almost over.

On Friday, we’ll reveal the winners in our Safety Message Contest. We’ve invited the winners to come to our Traffic Operations Center and type their message into our Dynamic Message Sign system. The winning messages will appear on overhead signs Friday through Monday.

You can see the winners by checking our Facebook page around 11:30 a.m. Friday or by traveling state highways this weekend.

By the way, did you know that one contest entry has already appeared on our overhead signs? We’ll consider using others in the future, too.