BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) launched a highway-safety public service announcement (PSA) campaign this month titled “Wreck Less, Louisiana.” The goal of the “Wreck Less, Louisiana” Campaign is to promote driver safety and awareness on Louisiana’s roadways to prevent the nearly 1,000 motor-vehicle fatalities that occur each year.

The “Wreck Less, Louisiana” Campaign will tackle six highway safety issues DOTD officials believe will reduce crashes by influencing driver behavior. Beginning in April, each month will feature a new highway safety issue with separate PSAs for print, radio and television.      Work-zone safety will be the first highway safety issue addressed by the “Wreck Less, Louisiana” Campaign. These radio, television and print PSAs will urge drivers to be cautious and obey posted speed limits in construction zones. DOTD chose to feature work-zone safety in April, because Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco has declared April 8-14, 2007, as Work Zone Awareness Week in Louisiana. According to 2005 data, crashes in highway work zones resulted in 12 deaths and 709 injuries on Louisiana’s roadways. Since 1992, 147 people have died from motor-vehicle crashes in Louisiana’s work zones.

DOTD will continue its “Wreck Less, Louisiana” Campaign through September 2007. The monthly campaign topics are: Pedestrian Safety (May), Move It Law (June), Speeding (July), Tailgating (August) and Driver Distraction (September).

The “Wreck Less, Louisiana” Campaign’s PSA concepts for television, radio and print were created by the Graham Group, a full-service advertisement agency in Louisiana, with oversight by DOTD.

The total cost of the “Wreck Less, Louisiana” campaign, which is paid for with Federal Highway Administration safety funds, is $950,000.

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