PHOENIX — Control yourself. Control your vehicle. Save lives.

That’s the message the Arizona Department of Transportation is sending to motorists this weekend, urging drivers to make roads safer for everyone by resisting dangerous driving behaviors of speeding, aggressive driving, impaired driving, distracted driving and not wearing a seat belt.

“Drivers really need to wake up and take responsibility for their behavior. When a person chooses to take control and grip the steering wheel, they are literally taking control of their own safety, as well as the safety of every other person with them on the roads,” said ADOT Director John Halikowski. “Don’t make dumb choices like drinking, texting, speeding and behaving aggressively while driving. I am ringing the alarm bell on traffic fatalities. Not controlling your behavior will wind up costing a life. Control yourself and control your vehicle. The life you save may be your own. Don’t lose control – don’t drive dumb.”

As part of an ongoing effort to increase driver awareness of the important role each of us plays in making roads safer for everyone, ADOT will display the following message on overhead highway signs from Thursday evening through Sunday.

CONTROL YOURSELF
CONTROL YOUR CAR
SAVE LIVES

According to preliminary data, Arizona remains on pace to exceed 900 traffic fatalities this year. The key issue behind fatal crashes on any roadway is driver behavior. If drivers stopped speeding, stopped driving aggressively, impaired or distracted, a significant number of lives – hundreds of lives – could be saved each year.