MNDOT Launches New Safety Message Campaign On Electronic Freeway Signs

You may have noticed something different as you drove along I-35 yesterday:  The electronic signs were boasting safety messages.  It's all part of a new effort from the Toward Zero Deaths Program and the Minnesota Department of Transportation to highlight safe driving practices.  The program is called Message Monday's.

The signs are located on Minnesota's high-traffic roadways - like I-35 - and already are used to display messages related to road conditions, speed limits, construction, and Department of Public Safety enforcement efforts.  Under the Message Monday initiative, MNDOT and TZD will display safety messages reminding drivers to use caution when they are behind the wheel.  A recent study by the United States Department of Transportation showed that these safety-related messages changed the behavior of drivers between 45 and 68-percent of the time - a significant change.

Some of the messages being displayed on Message Monday's include "Driving drowsy could wreck the holidays", "Friends don't text friends who are driving", "Turn signals - the original instant message", and the message displayed yesterday "Don't fumble your life away.  Buckle up".

There are 180 dynamic message boards in  the Twin Cities and an additional 100 in the Greater Minnesota area.

Actual traffic management messages will take precedent over these Message Monday posts.