Valley 101

There are the normal highway signs, ones that feature messages about travel times or road conditions.  Then there are the funny ones. Ones that say things like, "Cut off? Don’t get bad blood. Shake it off” in reference to a Taylor Swift song. Or “Aggressive driving is the path to the dark side,” a nod to “Star Wars.” Arizona isn't unique in having signs like that. The trend started with the Iowa Department of Transportation, but Arizona Department of Transportation spokesperson Doug Pacey thinks we may have perfected them. In today's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we're exploring the history of these signs and what it takes to write them. You'll also hear from Mitzie Warner, a Chandler resident who won a safety message writing competition.