"MoDOT" on VMS

[jeffandnicole]

Driving thru Missouri on a recent roadtrip, I noticed several of the VMS signs that were lit with messages all contained "MoDOT" one way or another.  In many cases, it was "MoDOT Cares", as in: (across 3 lines)

   No More Trash
Keep Hiways Clean
   MoDOT Cares

or...

  Friends Don't Let
Friends Drive Drunk
     MoDOT Cares

In other cases, it was when the signs were used for destination times, such as:

Destination A    3 Min
Destination B    8 Min
          MoDOT


So, the question is - why does MoDOT insist on using up a line of the VMS signs just to put themselves on it?  Especially on the destination signs, the could be used for a 3rd Destination.  It seems like some sort of odd promotion thing for the Missouri Dept of Transportation, as if they are trying to get someone's business!

[kphoger]

I halfway understand it on the first two examples–sort of a slogan for their cleanliness or safety campaign–but it's sort of weird in the third example.  Maybe it's to make people feel better about giving their tax money to MoDOT?

– Missouri's highways are crap.  Where does our tax money go?

– Well, Joe, haven't you seen those travel time signs on the Interstate?  I love those things!  And they're done by MoDOT.

– I guess you're right, Mike.  I wish we could give MoDOT even more money.

[agentsteel53]

I've always found that sort of self-congratulatory masturbation to be very off-putting.  it's not like we have a choice in who maintains the roads we drive.

similarly, the Kansas Turnpike shields having KTA in the middle.  honestly, unless it were the American Nazi Party or someone operating the toll road, the branding is not going to be a criterion in selecting where I drive.

[rmsandw]

When driving in StL...I always assumed this was a habit left over from when Gateway Guide was a joint between IDOT and MoDOT, and that the info was from MO and not I, just in case you didn't know what side of the river you were on...the word Missouri on the interstate shields, the Missouri outline on the state highway shields, the lettered highways...

[US71]

Driving thru Missouri on a recent roadtrip, I noticed several of the VMS signs that were lit with messages all contained "MoDOT" one way or another.  In many cases, it was "MoDOT Cares", as in: (across 3 lines)

   No More Trash
Keep Hiways Clean
   MoDOT Cares

or...

  Friends Don't Let
Friends Drive Drunk
     MoDOT Cares

In other cases, it was when the signs were used for destination times, such as:

Destination A    3 Min
Destination B    8 Min
          MoDOT


So, the question is - why does MoDOT insist on using up a line of the VMS signs just to put themselves on it?  Especially on the destination signs, the could be used for a 3rd Destination.  It seems like some sort of odd promotion thing for the Missouri Dept of Transportation, as if they are trying to get someone's business!

They're often used for other purposes such as "Rest Area at Mile 52 Closed". Of course, they're also used to body counts such as "124 Highway Deaths This Year. Buckle Up. MoDOT cares"