Iowa DOT Wants Your Ideas for the Roadside Message Boards

The Iowa Department of Transportation is looking for ideas from the public for their traffic safety message boards located along Iowa roadways.

If you have a traffic safety message to share, the Roadside Chat program is taking suggestions at https://zerofatalitiesiowa.com. If they use your idea they'll give you credit on social media.

They ask that your message focuses on one of the five behaviors: Buckle up, Drive sober, Stay alert, Focus on the road, and/or Drive Chill.

Examples include:

• Get your head out of your apps
• Kids drive like their parents
• Not buckled? What’s holding you back?
• What would they do without you? Drive safely

• Not buckled, you’re killing me Smalls
• Don’t press your luck, no whammies
• Is this heaven? No, it’s Iowa. Drive safely

You can submit your message HERE.

The program began in 2013 and was originally called "Message Mondays."  This past July, the message boards on the interstates and major highways were changed from messages being shown on Mondays, to Fridays. They will be lit from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. every Friday instead of Monday. The signs also display the year-to-date roadway fatality count for Iowa. The Iowa DOT says that the move to Friday will catch travelers who may be heading out of town for weekend activities.

As of Tuesday, September 14th, there have been 235 traffic fatalities in Iowa --- 10 more than last year by this date. 2020 total count was 337 -- the exact same amount in 2019.

The deadliest month was May with 44 traffic-related deaths.

According to the Iowa DOT, in 68 of the deaths so far this year, a seat belt WAS used. 68 deaths also occurred when NO seatbelt was used.

View the updated Iowa Traffic Fatality Count HERE.