While most Iowa teams may not have had the March Madness showing we hoped for, the Iowa Hawkeye Women have powered their way into the Final Four. Their path to get to tonight’s game took a lot of small moments that included discipline, repetition, and the formation of good habits to secure their success.
The Iowa DOT is focused on making lives better through transportation. Whether we are working to put safety first or focusing on our customers, innovation and leadership are at the heart of the work we do. Sometimes that innovation and leadership earns us attention and accolades from our industry partners and peers. We are proud of those across our DOT team who have been recognized for the following awards.
Take it easy, simmer down, ease off, chill – these are all terms that mean the same thing – RELAX. When you’re behind the wheel and other drivers aren’t doing what you expect, it’s easy to get aggressive and do things you know you shouldn’t do.
Speeding is something you might do to get past that annoying driver, but there are other aggressive behaviors that are also dangerous.
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.
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.
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.
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.