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Ian Kiwan demonstrates how the Barbie car protects its egg occupants to fairgoers

ITD serves up information, public outreach at Western Idaho Fair

Amid vendors hawking plenty of fried fair food and sales representatives touting their latest products, the Idaho Transportation Department once again returned to the Western Idaho Fair, offering up valuable information about vehicle and driver services, highway safety and any other road-related topic.

In conjunction with the Office of Highway Safety and the Federal Highway Administration, ITD DMV employees covered 40 shifts at a double-booth during the Boise fair. The DMV booth provided fairgoers with highway maps, brochures and information about the Idaho State Parks Passport program. Any questions related to DMV services also were answered by two DMV representatives at any time.

“The booth is a way to engage with our customers and begin a discussion with them…even if it's about handing out a highway map,” said booth coordinator and DMV Titles Program Specialist Barry Takeuchi.

At the neighboring OHS and FHWA booth, volunteers, including Lori Porreca and Ian Kiwan, along with two young volunteers who happen to be Porreca’s step-daughters, engaged people with a demonstration that included eggs and a Barbie car. The demonstration showed people what happened when an egg was buckled up--and when one was not…leading to not such pleasant results.

“It is our opportunity to do public outreach and really equip (people) with the information they need,” Takeuchi said.

It is estimated that approximately 50 people stopped by each booth per hour during the 10-day fair. This is the 13th year that ITD DMV has had a presence at the annual event, the last nine with FHWA and the last four with OHS.

James West and Erik Lawson man the ITD booth at the Western Idaho Fair.