NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennesseans have a chance to have their safety messages displayed on signs across the state over the holidays, during the Make Travel Bright Safety Sign Contest.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation said Monday it was taking entries for the contest. Through Dec. 11, people can write out holiday safety messages online, to be displayed on the state's Dynamic Message Signs. People will then be able to vote on the best messages through social media.
Entries will be considered for five highway safety categories, listed below.
- Seatbelt usage
- Impaired driving
- Distracted driving
- Speeding
- Aggressive driving
The transportation department said messages with profanity or lewd comments will be disqualified. They also said since the message boards can not be used for advertising purposes, people should avoid using sports team names, singers' names or brand names in their entries.
Signs can accommodate three lines of text with up to 21 characters, including spaces. No hashtags, phone numbers, websites or emojis are allowed on the signs either.
The state has 217 Dynamic Messages Signs in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis and Nashville, as well as some rural areas. They are mainly used to tell drivers about incidents, lane blockages and hazardous road conditions on the highways. They're also used as part of Amber Alerts.
Safety messages are also displayed during off-peak travel times, as well as fatality statistics. Voting will start on Dec. 16 to decide the best holiday safety message.
