DOT THINKs signs are hazard

The THINK signs put up by Union County law enforcement are a hazard, distraction and generally unappealing to highway travelers. This is according to a written statement from the Iowa Department of Transportation.

On Wednesday, law enforcement received a letter from the DOT stating the signs are in the state right of way and must be removed, or put to the fence lines on major highways. This is regarding the Guide to Iowa Outdoor Advertising Sign Regulations, page one, General Prohibitions, 1.

“They’ve classified the THINK signs as advertisements and that’s where it falls under the rule that says you can’t have them out there,” said Creston Police Sgt. Pat Henry. “The right of way is their property, and we have to have permission to put anything on it. We tried to go along with that, but our dilemma was there was numerous places the fence was out of sight from the road where we wanted to put the signs, which correlated with where the markers and fatalities occurred.”

The original plan was to put up 28 THINK signs across Union County to designate the site of motor vehicle fatalities. Many of the signs went up in early October. On the front they say, “Think! X marks the spot,” and on the back, “Why die?”

Money for these signs was from a grant from the Iowa Department of Health. The locations of the fatalities were provided by the DOT.

The first three signs put up were for Kalita Moore, 17, Chris Lowe, 21, and Jolynn Kimball, 15, for a fatal motor vehicle crash at the intersection of Highway 34 and Clover Avenue in June 2007.

In sight

On Monday, Henry and Union County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Steve Maitlen moved five signs to the fence lines on the major highways. They still had two more to do.

Henry said the families of victims who have purchased signs shouldn’t be worried because the signs will still be in the general location of the accident.

“We’ve moved them back along the fence lines, but they’re not very visible from the roadway” Henry said. “You really have to look real hard, and to me that’s more of a distraction to try to see the signs than it was when they were obviously visible from the roadway. That was one of my concerns.”

Henry said concerns about the signs were from the state level, not the county and city levels.

“The state said they felt like if they allowed us to do it, other counties would want to do the same thing,” he said. “I don’t see anything wrong with that, if the THINK signs were in other counties, that might help with the loss of lives.”

Right of way

Henry said it was important to comply with the state right of way, but feels it’s not always being enforced. He gave examples of feed advertising signs on the highway from Creston to Orient.

“Those are actually advertisements, where as these are safety signs,” he said. “To me, there’s a huge difference.”

Henry said the main goal of law enforcement and the DOT should be the safety of people driving motor vehicles on the roads.

“We’re all in the same line of work to save lives,” Henry said. “I just felt pretty strongly if these THINK signs saved at least one life it was worth it.”

For additional information on THINK signs, contact District Department of Transportation Engineer Don Stevens at 712-243-7622 in Atlantic.