ADOT becoming creative on dynamic message signs

[bigbuglf]

Monday's message made me laugh out loud, which was good because it was a lousy morning commute. Apparently many drivers were more than happy to move to the dark side!

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

They could do them in a series and resurrect the Burma Shave signs of years ago. Anyone old enough to remember those?

They have replicas of those signs on old Rt. 66 (Crookton Rd.) heading into Seligman from the east.

[Packard fan]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

They could do them in a series and resurrect the Burma Shave signs of years ago. Anyone old enough to remember those?

Before my time but my parents told me about Burma Shave.

[johnp292]

I could suggest a few...

"I find your lack of insurance disturbing."

"Sky Harbor Airport...We must be cautious."

"Impaired driving: There is no try."

"Speeders: You don't know the Power of DPS"

"Tailgating: I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Making the jump to Light Speed prohibited."

"DPS: The Force is strong with this one"

[Pink Jazz]

Originally Posted by johnp292

I could suggest a few...

"I find your lack of insurance disturbing."

"Sky Harbor Airport...We must be cautious."

"Impaired driving: There is no try."

"Speeders: You don't know the Power of DPS"

"Tailgating: I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Making the jump to Light Speed prohibited."

"DPS: The Force is strong with this one"

I'm not sure if all of these will fit on ADOT's dynamic message signs. Most of the dynamic message signs in the state are of the fixed character matrix type, which means they can only display a fixed number of characters with a fixed width. Only recently is ADOT now installing full matrix signs (which are capable of displaying narrower fonts and graphics), however, they are still being programmed in the same monospaced font as the existing fixed character signs, probably since the same software is being for compatibility reasons.

[johnp292]

Originally Posted by Pink Jazz

I'm not sure if all of these will fit on ADOT's dynamic message signs. Most of the dynamic message signs in the state are of the fixed character matrix type, which means they can only display a fixed number of characters with a fixed width. Only recently is ADOT now installing full matrix signs (which are capable of displaying narrower fonts and graphics), however, they are still being programmed in the same monospaced font as the existing fixed character signs, probably since the same software is being for compatibility reasons.

Yeah, I was going more for humor than actual signs.

[bigbuglf]

Originally Posted by johnp292

I could suggest a few...

"I find your lack of insurance disturbing."

"Sky Harbor Airport...We must be cautious."

"Impaired driving: There is no try."

"Speeders: You don't know the Power of DPS"

"Tailgating: I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Making the jump to Light Speed prohibited."

"DPS: The Force is strong with this one"

Well done! lol.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Pink Jazz

During the Thanksgiving weekend, many dynamic message signs were displaying the message "DRINKING & DRIVING GO TOGETHER LIKE PEAS & GUAC". That message was eventually pulled due to heavy backlash.

Looks like ADOT is being creative again today with the message "AGGRESSIVE DRIVING IS THE PATH TO THE DARK SIDE", capitalizing on the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

I wonder what could we see next.

Gee, I can't wait to see what witty messages ADOT has in store for us. The thrill and excitement are just killing me! Seriously, if the fine folks at ADOT put as much effort in highway maintenance and freeway construction as they do in coming up with a bunch of silly sayings, maybe I'd have more confidence in them. I will admit that "DRIVE HAMMERED, GET NAILED" is a pretty clever (and perhaps effective) message, but they should have ended it there. I'd rather see ADOT get busy on building these new freeways that the voters approved over 11 years ago instead of trying to be comedic poets.
()

[rambrush]

If only you knew what was going on behind the scenes. Manpower has been cut drastically to meet budget needs. Thus where there was 10 + people to patch and maintain guardrails plow snow gather up trash and debri there is now only a few workers. So they are busy responding to emergencies instead. Highways are federally funded and not a state budgeted item. No fed money no fixey only try to patch and maintain.

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Gee, I can't wait to see what witty messages ADOT has in store for us. The thrill and excitement are just killing me! Seriously, if the fine folks at ADOT put as much effort in highway maintenance and freeway construction as they do in coming up with a bunch of silly sayings, maybe I'd have more confidence in them. I will admit that "DRIVE HAMMERED, GET NAILED" is a pretty clever (and perhaps effective) message, but they should have ended it there. I'd rather see ADOT get busy on building these new freeways that the voters approved over 11 years ago instead of trying to be comedic poets.
()

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by rambrush

If only you knew what was going on behind the scenes. Manpower has been cut drastically to meet budget needs. Thus where there was 10 + people to patch and maintain guardrails plow snow gather up trash and debri there is now only a few workers. So they are busy responding to emergencies instead. Highways are federally funded and not a state budgeted item. No fed money no fixey only try to patch and maintain.

Please give it a rest. First of all, the majority of freeways here (at least in the Phoenix metro area) are not federally funded, but locally funded. They were built with the funds from the 1985 half cent sales tax which Maricopa County voters approved. Originally, over 230 miles of freeway was promised to be constructed ... however, because of ADOT's incompetence over the years, that number was cut in half. In the 1990s, ADOT & MAG blamed the cutbacks on the economy, even though the majority of the 1990s had a robust economy.

In 2004, voters approved an extension of the half cent tax for freeway maintenance, and construction of new freeways. What happened to all that money in the past 11 years??? Oh yes, they've been using some of our tax money for ridiculous things like rubberized asphalt ... and all that manpower is apparently being used to come up with corny slogans for their overhead message boards.