PHOENIX – As drivers take to Arizona’s highways over the holidays, Arizona Department of Transportation rest area Safe Phone Zones sponsored by GEICO encourage motorists to pull off the road before using smartphones for talking, texting and more.

“Even a moment’s distraction can be deadly,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “We are at our best as drivers when we are focused on the road, rested and sober. Using Safe Phone Zones at rest areas allows drivers to stay connected in a safe way.”

Taking your eyes off the road, hands off the wheel or mind off the task of driving is a hazard, regardless of the reason for doing so. Texting while driving is an especially great concern because it distracts visually, manually and cognitively. During the 5 seconds a person can look away from the road to send or receive a text, a car going 55 mph can travel the length of a football field.

The ADOT partnership began in 2014, with GEICO sponsoring Safe Phone Zones at 14 rest areas to encourage drivers to safely and conveniently use their phones and other mobile devices for calling, texting, navigating and accessing mobile apps. Signs bearing the GEICO logo alert motorists to Safe Phone Zones at each rest area.

GEICO has similar partnerships with Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and Texas.

More facts and tips on ways to avoid distracted driving can be found at SafePhoneZone.com as well as at Geico.com/More.

PHOENIX – After asphalt lanes get a rejuvenating seal designed to reduce cracking and extend the life of pavement, an innovation by Arizona Department of Transportation employees allows crews to reopen freeways faster.

Using scrap metal, ADOT maintenance workers fashioned what’s essentially a reverse stencil – a diamond-shaped template that keeps the oil-based seal off of white HOV markings within lanes. They also designed a metal arm to lift and transport the template from one HOV diamond to the next.

While applying the seal doesn’t affect lane striping, HOV markers within lanes once had to be repainted before a freeway could reopen. In addition to shortening the full closures required to apply the seal, saving the time and money needed to repaint HOV markings adds up to $310 for each diamond.

According to Mark Kilian, an ADOT highway operations technical supervisor, using the reverse stencil usually involves two trucks, each transporting and placing one template. This process improvement, he said, is designed to better serve drivers, who are ADOT’s customers.

“We had a major interstate shut down, and we wanted to make sure we can get it open as soon as possible, so we have to be as efficient as possible,” Kilian said.

This innovation is another example of ADOT’s commitment to continuous improvement through the Arizona Management System (AMS) championed by Governor Doug Ducey. AMS challenges all employees to identify and develop ways to deliver more value for taxpayers.

“Every time that we are successful at something like this,” Kilian said, “it gives us even more motivation to go out and find new innovation and ideas to help us make processes easier.”

PHOENIX – Have you sold your car online, to a person down the street, to a family member? Don’t forget to report that sale to the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division by filing a Sold Notice.

It’s not only the law; it can save you trouble – and money.

A Sold Notice should be completed within 10 calendar days of selling, trading in, donating or otherwise transferring ownership of a vehicle. It’s free and can be done anytime at ServiceArizona.com.

This notice ensures that MVD and law enforcement have a record of who currently owns the vehicle. If the vehicle is found abandoned, without updated sold notice information the previous owner will still be listed as the current owner and could get the bill for towing and other fees.

If a vehicle is abandoned on certain federal or state lands, owners can be charged $600 or more with storage fees also possible. Costs are similar for vehicles left on private property.

There also have been cases in which the prior owner of a vehicle without a Sold Notice on file has been contacted by law enforcement because that vehicle has been used during a crime.

In such cases, there are ways for you to prove that you sold the vehicle. But filing a Sold Notice will save you that trouble.

“A Sold Notice protects consumers,” said MVD Stakeholder Relations Manager Jennifer Bowser-Richards. “If the vehicle is sold and is later in a crash or used in a crime, or if it’s simply abandoned, the MVD will have a record of the sale. That means a former owner won’t be responsible for abandoned vehicle fees, or worse called into court to explain why the vehicle was used in a crime or crash they had nothing do to with.”

The process is simple via ServiceArizona.com:

• Enter vehicle and seller’s information
• Enter the buyer’s information and the date vehicle was sold
• View and/or print a confirmation
• Complete an optional survey

MVD also keeps an eye out for unscrupulous unlicensed or licensed dealers who may attempt to sell a vehicle as though they are actually a private seller. When a vehicle is sold by a private owner to a dealer, a Sold Notice will alert MVD if that dealer attempts to re-sell the vehicle privately, and ADOT’s Enforcement and Compliance Division will investigate.

For more information about abandoned vehicles and Sold Notices, please visit azdot.gov/mvd.