Because bureaucrats don’t take taxpayers seriously, the folks at the Arizona Department of Transportation though it would be fun to use your tax dollars to hold a “Safety Message Contest.”
After receiving nearly 7,000 submissions, 20 finalists have been selected to advance to the next round of the contest. Now it’s up to the public which two will appear on signs above Arizona’s highways. Through March 15, you can participate in the contest you are paying for and view and vote on the finalists at azdot.gov/signcontest.
Response to the contest was so overwhelming that ADOT expanded the number of finalists from 15 to 20 and increased the winners from one to two. The winning messages will appear on overhead signs one day each in April.
“We were excited to see so much interest,” said Kevin Biesty, ADOT deputy director for policy.
Even if a message isn’t a finalist, it could still be displayed on message boards. ADOT has already scheduled a contest entry related to an event this month to appear on signs in March and will consider others throughout the year, too.
ADOT began placing unconventional safety messages on overhead signs more than a year ago. The Department still does not alert drivers through the overhead signs in the case of wrong way drivers on the freeways.