Click it to Ride: ADOT taking entries for annual safety message contest
Mar 25, 2021, 4:45 AM | Updated: 7:50 am
(ADOT Photo)
(ADOT Photo)
PHOENIX — The creative safety messages on freeway signs across the state have caught the eye of many, and now the Arizona Department of Transportation is asking for people to submit their own ideas for the fifth annual contest.
“It’s been great to watch the excitement from the community when the contest launches each year,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said in a press release Wednesday. “With thousands participating year after year, we hope it’s a reminder to everyone that we are all responsible for keeping our roads safe.”
Those interested can submit ideas online through March 31 for a chance to have their creative safety phrase appear on message boards around the state.
ADOT will select 10 finalists which will be voted on by the public.
The message must relate to traffic safety, be a maximum of three lines (18 characters per line including spaces) and have no hashtags, emojis, phone numbers or website addresses.
Around 16,000 entries have been received over the past four years, according to the release, featuring phrases that have ranged from wacky to poetic.
Last year’s winning entries out of 4,000 submissions were “Signal and ready to mingle” and “Red fish, blue fish, speeding’s foolish,” with more than 5,500 votes being cast online.
Roses are red
VIolets are blue
We write DMS signs
Now YOU can too!ADOT is holding its annual Safety Message Contest.
Here’s how to enter: https://t.co/i1mE3WAu3N by March 31. #aztraffic #phxtraffic pic.twitter.com/iWjkWQNL2I
— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) March 25, 2021
The minds behind the signs at ADOT in the past have come up with creative safety messages playing off pop culture trends or local events, such as concerts and sporting events.
During the 2017 National League Wild Card Game between the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks, signs around the Valley read “Don’t be a wild card, drive like a champ.”
ADOT says the creative messages are meant to encourage motorists to make better decisions while on the road as speeding, aggressive driving and distracted or impaired driving are leading factors in fatal collisions.
