ADOT using humor, 'Star Wars' to push safety messages

As excitement for the new “Star Wars” movie grows, the Arizona Department of Transportation is tapping into the Force to engage drivers about highway safety.

“Aggressive driving is the path to the Dark Side” read an electronic message board over Arizona highways Thursday morning. Another recent addition told drivers to “Trust the Force but always buckle up,” with an accompanying tweet from ADOT reading: “Young Luke Skywalker wore his seat belt. Be a safe Jedi like Luke.”

The messages reflect a years-long effort by ADOT director John Halikowski to use message boards and social media to “go outside the box and keep the conversation going” on safety issues, said department spokesman Doug Nintzel.

That effort was aided by the hiring of former reporters as public information officers a few years ago, Nintzel said. The new staffers used their skills in writing headlines to fit catchy phrases in the limited space offered by message boards.

One of the early indicators of how effective ADOT’s social media presence could be came in January when a public information officer was looking for a still photo to show road conditions on Arizona 260 east of Payson, Nintzel said. The photo he chose included snow-covered bushes resembling a family of Sasquatches and the image went viral on social media.

ADOT worked with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to come up with “Drive hammered, get nailed,” which is widely used throughout the state’s more than 200 message boards, he said.

The department also took cues from its counterpart in Iowa, he said. Signs from the Iowa department’s “Message Mondays” include “Get your head out of your apps. Drive safely” and “Your mom called. Are you buckled?”

The current “Star Wars”-themed campaign grew out of ideas proposed by ADOT public information officers, Nintzel said.

“We asked for ideas from the staff and, as with any office, you’re going to have those who are really into ‘Star Wars,’” he said.

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The Maricopa County Department of Transportation also appears to have adopted the use of humorous “Star Wars”-themed messages.

The department posted a tweet Wednesday with a photo of a road-work truck bearing the sign “Jedi at work.”

The reaction by Arizona drivers to the humorous public awareness campaigns has been “overwhelmingly positive” and will continue long after “Star Wars” mania has faded, Nintzel said.

Photos of the message boards posted by ADOT on its Twitter account, which has more followers than all state transportation departments except Washington, were seen about 25,000 times.

Photos on the department’s Facebook account reached 180,000 people, he said.

“Star Wars” is not the only popular-culture item ADOT has used on message boards. Last month, an ADOT public information officer picked up on the controversy created the New York Times when the newspaper suggested adding peas to guacamole.

“It caused quite a stir among folks who really take their guacamole seriously,” Nintzel said.

The department decided to tie the controversy into a public safety message.

The resulting sign read: “Drinking and driving go together like peas and guac.”