Category: Roadside Chat
ROADSIDE CHAT – DRIVE SUPER SOBER FOR SUPERDOME SUPER BOWL
February 7, 2025
It’s Superdome Super Bowl weekend, and you have some super tough decisions. Are you cheering for the Chiefs or the Eagles? Will it be burgers, pizza, or chicken wings? Wait…what about nachos, chili soup, or reshaping your cheese ball into a football? Maybe you’re deciding between watching the game at a favorite bar or going to the house party where you can show up with an appetizer in one hand and a 12-pack in the other.
ROADSIDE CHAT – DID WINTER STOP? PROBABLY NOT - KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
January 31, 2025
This week’s January thaw has felt amazing! The welcomed break from winter makes us wonder if the cold season’s releasing its grip for good. Punxsutawney Phil’s visit this weekend reminds us the end is clearly within sight, but as Iowans, we know winter’s tricks. So, we won’t be surprised when it makes its return. Because it will. The question is, are we prepared to navigate our routes when the next system lands?
ROADSIDE CHAT – ORANGE CRUSH - GOOD SODA/BAD MESS, GIVE PLOWS ROOM
January 24, 2025
When winter blankets our roads with snow and ice, Iowa DOT snowplows are critical allies in helping restore safe travel conditions. However, your relationship with these snowfighters can be a mix of appreciation and frustration. While you may value their efforts to clear our roads, it’s easy to lose the patience needed for these slow-moving vehicles to complete their work.
Rushing to pass a plow, driving into its operational space, or staying in its blind spots can quickly become a recipe for an orange crush – and not the tasty beverage type.
ROADSIDE CHAT – STAY CLASSY IOWA - DRIVER SOBER, DRIVE SMART
January 17, 2025
“It’s just a few drinks…I’m ok to drive.” How many times have you heard that from family members or friends? When it comes to drinking and driving, staying safe is about something deeper than confidence in your ability to drive under the influence. It’s about making responsible choices – and that starts with being sober and clear-headed behind the wheel.
ROADSIDE CHAT – GROW A SAFETY SEED, START BY BURYING THE PHONE
January 10, 2025
Every parent dreams of seeing their children grow up safe and healthy. And parents have an enormous ability to educate them on avoiding danger by teaching skills like looking both ways before crossing the street and buckling up in every seat. But a critical safety seed that’s often not planted is burying the cell phone while driving. Done early, it can sprout a family expectation of a mindset to help grow our kids into safe adult drivers.
ROADSIDE CHAT – PROTECT MY PRECIOUS, BUCKLE UP EVERY TRIP
January 3, 2025
On the birthday of Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien, we recall one of his most famous lines. His monster Gollum said of the Ring, “It is mine, I tell you. My own. My precious,” and his protection of it extended his life far beyond usual limits. In the natural world, protecting our most precious – family and friends whose lives we treasure – can be accomplished with the simple act of ensuring that everyone in our vehicle wears a seatbelt.
ROADSIDE CHAT – JINGLE BELLS, BATMAN SMELLS, PUT THE PHONE AWAY
December 27, 2024
Many of us were in elementary school when we heard the Caped Crusader spin on “Jingle Bells.” This holiday parody has been around for decades, and its silly and rebellious charm gets passed down from one generation to the next annually. This year, we’re adding a new twist on “Robin laid an egg.” It’s a substitution that should also be passed down to the new generations in our family and practiced every day of the year: when you are driving, put the phone away.
ROADSIDE CHAT – SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN, LET HIM MERGE
December 20, 2024
In a few days, Santa Claus is coming to town. Traffic could be heavy heading down from the North Pole on Christmas Eve. So, be ready to make room for his sleigh because ‘he knows if you’ve been merging…he knows who’s in your lane…he knows if you’ve been sig-nal-ing, so be good for goodness sake!’
ROADSIDE CHAT – BE MERRY & BRIGHT, TURN ON YOUR HEADLIGHTS
December 13, 2024
Q: What did one Christmas tree say to the other?
A: You need to lighten up!
At the holidays, there’s magic and merriment in the air, and corny jokes too. But when it comes to traffic safety this time of year, making sure our travels are bright is no laughing matter. Turning on your headlights isn’t only about seeing your way over the valley and through the woods, but also ensuring that drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians can see you.
ROADSIDE CHAT – GRANDMA GOT RUN OVER BY A REINDEER - WHO WAS TEXTING -
December 6, 2024
In the humorous Christmas song, “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer,” she’s a bit tipsy from enjoying too much eggnog on Christmas Eve. So, it’s easy to understand how Grandma could have stumbled into the path of Santa’s sleigh on her way home. As the story unfolds, it’s discovered that hoofprints found at the scene the next morning suggest she was the victim of a distracted sleigh driver. And now we know the real cause of the hit and run: Rudolph was texting and flying.