Mississippi DOT features holiday safety messages, local submission leads first display

The Mississippi Department of Transportation began showcasing winning entries from its 12 Days of Christmas digital message sign contest on Sunday, with the first message coming from Lafayette County resident Rosa Davis Madden. Her submission offered a festive admonition to motorists, reading, "Reckless Drivers are Worse than Fruitcake."

MDOT said it collected more than 350 Christmas themed messages from the public over the past month, submitted across the agency's social media platforms. Officials selected 12 winners that will be posted on MDOT social media @MississippiDOT daily through Christmas Day, and selected messages are being displayed on dynamic message sign boards along highways and interstates across the state.

For Lafayette County drivers the initiative combines seasonal engagement with a practical traffic safety purpose. The digital message sign boards are visible to motorists who travel state routes and interstates, and the rotating holiday messages serve as brief reminders to take care on roads that typically see higher volumes during the holiday travel period. Local emergency messages and real time traffic updates will override the scheduled holiday messages when necessary, ensuring public safety communications remain the primary priority.

The campaign reflects a broader effort by transportation agencies to involve communities in public safety outreach while using familiar cultural touch points to capture drivers attention. By inviting public submissions the department aimed to mix humor and holiday culture with plain safety advice, encouraging motorists to pay attention to conditions rather than distractions.

Residents who want to see the rotating winners can follow MDOT on social media at @MississippiDOT, where the 12 daily winners will be posted through December 25. The effort is small scale, but it seeks to influence behavior during a peak travel window, and for communities such as Lafayette County it offers a chance to combine local voice with statewide safety messaging.