'That seat belt looks good on you:' Road signs prompt safety

'That seat belt looks good on you:' Road signs prompt safety

(Utah Department of Transportation)


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SALT LAKE CITY — After an increase in traffic fatalities for the past two years, the Utah Department of Transportation started a campaign using edgy, funny messages to promote safety.

Utah's "100 deadliest days" occur between Memorial Day and Labor Day and see the highest number of traffic fatalities for the year, according to UDOT public information officer John Gleason. In 2012, Utah had its lowest number of traffic fatalities in 50 years with 217 deaths. But the number increased to 220 traffic fatalities in 2013 and jumped to 256 deaths in 2014.

"That number increased significantly," Gleason said. "That's cause for concern. So we really want to pull out all the stops and do anything that we can to get that number headed in the right direction down to zero."

As a result, UDOT launched a new Zero Fatalities campaign on Memorial Day to highlight a creative message each week on its electronic billboards along I-15 and other Utah roadways.

"A lot of times you'll see freeway signs and we see so many things that it all just kind of becomes background noise," he said. "So we wanted to get a little creative with the messaging."

"Steering Wheel: Not a hands-free device." Photo Credit: Utah Department of Transportation

A new message appears each Monday and has said things like, "That seat belt looks good on you," "Turn Signals: The original instant message" and "Work zone safety — we don't speed through your office." Gleason said the messages are meant to be funny, but also to make people think.

"That's really the goal is to spark a conversation if you are driving down the street with your loved ones," he said. "The whole goal is to get people to think about traffic safety when you typically wouldn't be thinking about it in those terms."

Gleason said they were inspired by similar campaigns in other states and have received a lot of positive feedback. Although he said it's too early to tell if the messages are having an impact on lowering traffic fatalities, they plan to continue the campaign after Labor Day.

"I don't think we are expecting that these messages are going to change the world, but every little bit helps when we are talking about traffic safety," Gleason said. "If we can do everything in our power to get that number down to zero and decrease our traffic fatalities, that's our responsibility."

From Jan. 1 to Aug. 3, there have been 154 traffic fatalities on Utah roads.

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Faith Heaton Jolley

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