ADOT unveils safety message contest winner: ‘Buckle up, buttercup’
Apr 20, 2018, 3:00 PM
(Facebook Photo/ADOT)
(Facebook Photo/ADOT)
PHOENIX — Winners of the Arizona Department of Transportation’s safety message contest will see their words in lights on overhead signs throughout the state this weekend.
ADOT selected 15 finalists and put them up for a public vote in March. More than 2,500 votes were cast, and the winning entry was “Buckle up, buttercup.”
There was a tie for second between “Road rage gives you wrinkles” and “Camping in the left lane attracts bears.”
“These messages will be up through the weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, one message each day,” ADOT spokesman Doug Pacey told KTAR News 92.3 FM.
ADOT invited the winners and runners-up to the traffic operations center so they can type their messages into the system.
The winning safety message appeared on multiple entries, and four of them included proper contact information: Tasha Anderson of Youngtown; Susan Henry of Glendale; husband and wife Pete and Dianna Schoening of Peoria; and Lily Hutt, a fifth-grader at Desert Willow Elementary School in Cave Creek.
Sterling Gavette of Phoenix with the “Camping” entry and Christina Healy of Prescott Valley with the “Road rage” warning took runner-up honors.
ADOT has developed a reputation for quirky and humorous messages on its overhead signs intended to promote safe driving.
This is the second year ADOT held a safety message contest. Last year’s contest drew more than 6,700 entries. There were about 2,200 hundred submissions this year.
“That’s the temperature – not the speed limit” was the winning entry for the 2017 contest. The runner-up was “Single in HOV? Get a real date, not a court date.”
If you have a great idea but missed out on the contest, ADOT will consider using suggestions submitted via Facebook and Twitter, Pacey said. Messages must fit on three lines, 18 characters (including spaces) per line.
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Ali Vetnar contributed to this report.
