AASHTO Journal - TxDOT Goes ‘Big’ With its Latest Safety Campaign

To bring more attention to its latest safety messages regarding seat belt use, distracted driving, and speeding, the Texas Department of Transportation decided to “go big” in an unusual way.

[Above photo by TxDOT]

For 2024, the agency enlisted the booming voice of “Big Tex,” an icon of the State Fair of Texas located just outside of Dallas, for a series of 30-second social media spots reminding motorists to buckle up, drive the speed limit, and limit distractions when behind the wheel.

Big Tex, the “official greeter” for the state fair, is known around the globe as the world’s tallest cowboy. But the 49-foot tall figurine actually began life as a larger-than-life “Santa Claus” for the town of Kerens, TX.

Built of iron pipe casing, papier mache, cloth, and seven-foot lengths of unraveled rope for his “Santa” beard right after World War II in 1949, the statue eventually morphed into “Big Tex” for the 16-day-long state fair in 1952 with the addition of size 70 boots and a 75-gallon hat; helping boost his height above 52 feet.

Other state departments of transportation have tapped “unusual” characters for help in spreading a variety of safety messages.

For example, in 2023, the Montana Department of Transportation enlisted the help of Andy the Australian Shepherd; joining an NFL lineman as part of the agency’s “Engage Montana” initiative to encourage motorists statewide to adopt safer driving habits.

The Montana DOT said in one of its newsletters at the time that that Andy helps keep roads safer by using his “loveable and loyal personality” to convey important reminders about seat belt use, only driving sober, putting aside distractions, and not speeding.

“I’m a working dog from a ranch out east, but I have friends and relatives all over Montana,” Andy noted in an “interview” as part of that motor vehicle safety push. “You’ll find me herding people who have been drinking away from their cars and reminding teens life isn’t a race and their neighborhood isn’t a racetrack. I remind my humans to buckle up every trip, and to slow the roll and stay cool behind the wheel.”