Building and maintaining the state’s highway system means that ADOT crews frequently need to work pretty close to traffic to get the job done...

That proximity can lead to some big safety risks when motorists choose to drive dangerously, which is why we’re asking drivers to slow down, pay attention and expect the unexpected in the work zone.

Work Zone Awareness

Today marks the start of National Work Zone Awareness Week, an ideal time to review and address any bad driving habits. Driving with caution through a work zone will not only help to protect road crews, but it will also help to ensure your safety.

Did you know that most victims in work-zone crashes are likely to be drivers or their passengers?

Slowing down, obeying signs and warning devices, and preparing for lane restrictions really go a long way to keep everyone safe.

So, here’s what you can do to stay safer in the work zone:

• Expect the unexpected. Normal speed limits may be reduced, traffic lanes may be restricted and people may be working on or near the road.
• Slow down! Speeding is one of the major causes of work-zone crashes.
• Keep a safe distance. The most common type of accident in a work zone is a rear-end collision. Maintain two car lengths between you and the car in front of you as well as road crews and their equipment.
• Pay attention. The warning signs are there to help you move safely through the work zone. Observe the posted signs.
• Obey road crew flaggers. The flagger knows what is best for moving traffic safely in the work zone. A flagger has the same authority as a regulatory sign. You can be cited for disobeying a flagger's directions.
• Stay alert and minimize distractions. Dedicate your full attention to the roadway and avoid changing radio stations or using cell phones while driving in a work zone.
• Keep up with traffic flow. Motorists can help maintain traffic flow and posted speeds by merging as soon as possible. Do not drive right up to the lane closure and then try to barge in.
• Check road conditions before you travel. Schedule enough time to drive safely and check for traffic information by calling 511 or by logging on to az511.gov.
• Be patient and stay calm. Remember, crews are working to improve the road and your commute.

Visit azdot.gov/WorkZone for more information.

By Dallas Hammit
State Engineer/Deputy Director for Transportation

The Super Bowl recently put Arizona in the spotlight. Leading up to the big event, as fans were getting ready for game day, ADOT was prepping for the increased traffic that multiple related events would bring to our freeways.

The planning that was involved is certainly noteworthy and I want to share with you how ADOT, along with many other agencies, worked for months to ensure a safe, efficient experience for drivers.

Some of that planning included a number of pregame meetings and participation in a series of “tabletop exercises” designed to show how all the agencies involved would respond to a variety of scenarios. During Super Bowl week, which was filled with events and festivities, ADOT pre-staged resources at multiple locations across the Valley. Cone trucks, attenuators, a dump truck and loader along with an ALERT (Arizona Local Emergency Response Team) truck were all deployed and ready to go. In the event they were needed, these vehicles would be able to quickly clear crashes.

Our Traffic Operations Center was also ready for any traffic incident. The TOC Control Room served as the central point of contact for ADOT and other agencies. Because of excellent coordination with those agencies and surrounding municipalities, the TOC was able to promptly update our Dynamic Message Signs with important route information and safety messaging. During the game, ADOT was also on-site at the Multi-Agency Coordination Center to manage operations in coordination with a number of local agencies.

Now that Super Bowl XLIX is behind us, it’s safe to say that the planning paid off. Lessons learned were shared amongst agencies, and the partnerships that were in many cases already there to begin with, have been strengthened.

By Dallas Hammit
State Engineer/Deputy Director for Transportation

A major effort that began in 2012 to update Arizona’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) reached a milestone last year when a new plan was formally approved. Now that it is in effect, the updated SHSP is being used by ADOT and other agencies to address several transportation safety issues.

ADOT, along with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, the Department of Public Safety, the Arizona Department of Health Services, the Federal Highway Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and dozens of stakeholders statewide collaborated on the state’s new SHSP.

The update was a big endeavor and I want to say thank you to everyone involved who worked so diligently on this task.

The new safety plan is now available to view online and I encourage you all to take a look.

You’ll see that the goal of the SHSP is to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads in Arizona. To help achieve that goal, the SHSP outlines several emphasis areas including speeding and aggressive driving, impaired driving, occupant protection, motorcycles and distracted driving. Multiple strategies and action steps have been formulated to make sure the objectives are met.

It’s a comprehensive document that provides a guide for where we want to go. You can view the plan at azdot.gov/shsp.

It is National Teen Driver Safety Week and while teenagers might view a driver license as their key to independence, parents and guardians know these new drivers still need plenty of guidance and support…

Inexperience behind the wheel, speeding, seatbelt use and distractions are all factors that put teens at a high risk for involvement in a serious or fatal crash.

The good news is that parents who talk with their teens to establish safe-driving habits truly have a positive impact. According to information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), surveys indicate that “teenagers whose parents impose driving restrictions typically engage in less risky driving and are involved in fewer crashes.”

Getting the conversation started

Knowing where to begin the discussion can be tricky. Luckily, there are a number of resources designed to help parents in their approach.

Launched in 2013 to encourage a dialogue between parents and children, NHTSA’s “5 to Drive” campaign outlines these five crucial rules for teen drivers:
1. No drinking and driving.
2. Buckle up. Every trip. Every time. Front seat and back.
3. Put it down. One text or call could wreck it all.
4. Stop speeding before it stops you.
5. No more than one passenger at any time.

For each of the five topics, the NHTSA offers up facts and strategies that may come in handy as you and your teen talk about future driving habits. You can find more information about the “5 to Drive” campaign at safercar.gov.

Another good source of information is the Arizona Driver License Manual. When you review it with your teen driver, you may want to pay close attention to the requirements for graduated instruction permits and driver licenses.

And don’t forget, you can and should always set a good example for your future drivers, no matter what their age. That means adhering to the rules of the road, buckling up, obeying the speed limit and refraining from cell phone / mobile device use while driving.

By Jennifer Toth
Deputy Director for Transportation

Of all the cargo we transport, none is more valuable than children. Yet tragically, motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 13 years. These deaths, and thousands of serious injuries, can be prevented by properly using car seats, booster seats or seat belts.

In recognition of national Child Passenger Safety Week September 14-20, 2014, I want to remind everyone about properly using child safety seats and seat belts. Not only do they save lives, but child safety seats are required by Arizona law. Children younger than 8 years old and under 4' 9" must be properly secured in a safety or booster seat.

If you currently use a car seat and want to ensure it is properly installed, visit www.safercar.gov/parents/index.htm for information about car seat inspection locations in Arizona.

As children grow up, they need to understand the importance of always wearing a seat belt. One of the best ways to teach them is leading by example. This means always wearing YOUR seat belt and making sure all passengers are buckled up or properly secured in the appropriate car seat before you begin driving.

Sharing the Road with Trucks

September 14-20 is also National Truck Driver Appreciation Week. One of the best ways to show your appreciation during this week, and always, is by safely sharing the road with trucks. Here are a few tips, courtesy of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration:

• Avoid blind spots, also referred to as “no zones,” around the front, back and sides of a truck. If you cannot see the truck driver in the mirror, the truck driver can’t see you.
• Don’t cut in front of trucks. They need more time to stop compared to a passenger vehicle. Forcing a larger vehicle to stop suddenly can result in a serious crash.
• Pass trucks safely! Look for the front of the truck in your rear-view mirror and make sure there is enough space between your vehicle and the truck before pulling in front.

By Jennifer Toth
Deputy Director for Transportation

Most Arizona children head back to school in August, so you’ve probably noticed an increase in traffic – and more kids on streets and sidewalks.

As you’re driving, watch for children as they walk and bike to and from school. Kids can be unpredictable, so anticipate they might dart into the path of your vehicle. Slow down, especially on residential streets and near schools, and be prepared to stop.

Parents and guardians:

• Teach and reinforce the importance of walking and biking safely, including the basics of looking both ways before crossing a street and always using cross walks. The National Center for Safe Routes to School program provides tips for getting to school safely. Take a few minutes to review it with the kids in your family.
• Check out the route your child takes to school. Walk or bicycle it with your child and identify potential safety hazards along the way. Point out the safe places to cross the street, as well as driveways or alleys where kids should look out for vehicles entering the roadway.
• Don’t allow children to use headphones or mobile devices to talk, text, play games or watch videos when walking or bicycling. Children need to keep their eyes and ears focused on their surroundings, watching especially for drivers who might not see them.
• Require children to wear a properly fitting helmet if they ride a bike to and from school.

For more safety information, please revisit some of our previous posts.

ADOT crews put up some new signs last week, but hopefully you’ll never get a good view of them while you’re on the road…

That’s because these signs are there to tell drivers that they are driving the WRONG WAY.

“Do Not Enter” and “Wrong Way” signs are already in place along freeway off-ramps, but these new, larger versions are being installed and studied along exit ramps at six freeway interchanges. The decision to enhance wrong-way driver signs and markings and observe their effectiveness follows discussions between ADOT, the Arizona Governor's Office of Highway Safety and the state’s Department of Public Safety.

In addition to being bigger (the “Do Not Enter” signs are increased in size from 30 by 30 inches to 48 by 48 inches and the new “Wrong Way” signs measure 48 by 36 inches.), the signs are being placed lower on their posts to see if that will help in alerting confused or impaired wrong-way drivers.

As you can see in the video above, crews also added pavement markers in the shape of large arrows pointing the right way along the exit ramps. Those pavement markers have reflectors to display the color red as a warning to any drivers going the wrong way on the ramps. The reflectors are already in use as part of the lane markings on freeways.

It is not yet known how long the new signs and other changes will be studied before a decision is made about an expansion of the program to other state freeway or highway locations. There are more than 100 traffic interchanges on the Phoenix-area freeway system and more than 475 interchanges along the rest of the state highway system.

ADOT and other public safety agencies work in support of the three E’s of highway safety: engineering, education and enforcement. The sign changes and the addition of the reflective pavement marker wrong-way arrows are examples of near-term engineering steps ADOT can implement and study as part of an overall effort to reduce the risk of wrong-way drivers.

Dust and wind must make for some good poetic inspiration, because we’ve received so many outstanding Haboob Haikus!

This year’s submissions really have showcased the clever creativity of all you poets out there.

We thank you for helping us to spread the message and we hope you’ll continue to tell your friends and family why it’s so important to “Pull Aside, Stay Alive.”

We’ll continue to keep you updated on driving conditions and the dangers of dust storms. You can monitor travel conditions by calling 511, or by visiting www.az511.gov. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. And, don’t forget you can find all our dust storm safety driving tips at PullAsideStayAlive.org.

Now, back to those haikus…

We want to share a sample of the Haboob Haikus from this year (it was too hard to pick a favorite!).

• Powerful nature / bad impairment of vision/ Stay off of the road!
• Look! A big haboob / I'll speed up and outrun it… / BOOM! I'm such a boob
• Sunset looking good / until Pig Pen’s cloud appears / Good grief, pull aside
• Sand from the desert / an oppressive wind blowing / Pull over and live
• Don't drive into me / Pull over and all lights off / Drive home when dust clears
• Haboob hijacks you / Don't make it mad. Stop and wait / Patience beats haboobs
• Haboobs are dusty / so pull aside stay alive / then go wash your car!
• Clear and sunny day / Oh man...that's a lot of dust! / Pull over, lights off!

Did you have a favorite #HaboobHaiku this year? Let us know in the comments your No. 1 choice. And, if you haven't yet, we invite you to participate in ADOT's new online dust storm survey.