Transportation Matters for Iowa

Personnel updates for March 3 to March 16, 2023

March 23, 2023

Information supplied by the Business Systems Bureau

New processes and materials make highway paint more visible and longer lasting

March 22, 2023

When it’s wet, snowy, or icy, it can be tricky to see the painted lines on Iowa roads, potentially making it tough for you to see where you are on the road. Because “Safety First” is one of our core values, our team is constantly working to find better, more durable paint systems that will help you more clearly see paint lines in adverse weather conditions, improving your safety on the road. The focus of the Iowa DOT is the interstate system, U.S. and state highways, so our paint program is geared toward those roads.

Clearing crashes quicker to keep you safer on Iowa’s roads

March 20, 2023

When there is a crash, especially one that involves a large truck, every minute counts to get traffic moving again and keep you safer on the road. Research shows that for every minute that a lane is closed, the risk of another crash in the area goes up by 2.8 percent. At around 30 minutes, the chance of a second crash in the area is very high.

A new program in the Iowa City and Des Moines areas helps us fulfill one of our core values, “Safety First”, by clearing crashes more quickly, especially those involving large trucks, which reduces your risk of being involved in a second crash. The program offers incentives to towing companies to have specialized equipment ready to respond to commercial vehicle crashes.

Roadside Chat - Feeling lucky? A sober ride is a sure thing.

March 17, 2023

There are some things you can leave to luck but driving after you’ve been drinking isn’t one of them.

Planning ahead is the key to staying safe if you’re going to be drinking.

Bonding over the Bunker Mill Bridge

March 16, 2023

The Iowa Department of Transportation’s 2,700 employees come from all walks of life and backgrounds. One thing we share is a core value of “Servant Leadership.” How this value plays out in everyday life varies, but it tends to spread throughout everything we do, both at work and at home.

Roadside Chat - What drives you to buckle up?

March 10, 2023

Did you know that almost half of the people killed on Iowa roadways so far this year weren’t buckled up? These are real people who won’t be joining friends for dinner or picking up kids at daycare or making it home to feed the dog. They will never celebrate another birthday or holiday. The repercussions of just one death can have a ripple effect throughout families, communities, and beyond.

Personnel updates for February 17 to March 2, 2023

March 9, 2023

Information supplied by the Business Systems Bureau

Roadside Chat - Pedal to the metal is flirtin' with disaster

March 3, 2023

Why do we do it? We know exceeding the speed limit is illegal and dangerous, but we still manage to push the pedal down just a bit further when we’re in a hurry or we’re distracted or we think others are just going too slow.

It’s a mathematical fact that speeding won’t save you much time. A University of Sydney study collected data from 106 drivers over a period of five weeks. The results showed a surprisingly small amount of time saved by speeding, just 26 seconds a day and 2 minutes a week. More importantly, these savings come at a cost of considerable injuries and fatalities.

March 2023 Service awards

March 1, 2023

Information provided by the Business Systems Bureau

New research aims to increase safety for those in and around snowplows

February 27, 2023

Our mission is to make lives better through transportation, which includes looking for ways to make you safer when traveling on wintry Iowa roads, especially when you come up on one of our massive snowplow trucks.

Light it up – testing new lighting for our snowplow trucks
You would think that our very large orange trucks would be difficult to miss, but we still have dozens of them hit from behind every year. In a crash like that, it’s generally the motorist who suffers the most serious consequences. To help you better see our trucks in winter weather, we’re researching new ideas to improve the lighting that is visible when coming up behind one of our trucks.

Transportation Matters FOR Iowa

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