ITD takes the public on patrol with its first tweet-along

Along with another District 2 employee, I was able to participate in a special patrol with a few agencies at the end of December and took advantage of a unique opportunity to communicate ITD’s involvement with highway safety.

Since late September, the stretch of US-12/US-95 in front of the Clearwater River Casino and Lodge has seen two fatalities, renewing interest in the two intersections and efforts to improve safety. The district office is partnering with the Nez Perce Tribe to finalize plans for an interchange, but on Dec. 28, District Traffic Engineer Jared Hopkins and I were able to participate in a more visible manner.

ITD led its first Tweet-along on the department's social media Twitter account.

Tweet-alongs typically involve publicizing a special event by sending out multiple updates in a short timeframe with common hashtags. It’s a tool often used by law enforcement agencies during emphasis patrols to offer their followers a virtual ride along, and the hashtags allow viewers to see related posts from several agencies in one feed.

In this case, #US12casino #live #partnerpatrol were used to raise drivers’ awareness in the area and spread a message of a coordinated undertaking by Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Office, Nez Perce Tribal Police, Idaho State Police, and ITD.

Over the course of the patrol, five tweets were published with help from participating officers, including Ruger from the tribe’s K9 unit. With each tweet, the number of impressions (or those who saw the tweet) grew.  

Although the numbers are not scientific, compared to other days in the last four weeks, the day’s collection of tweets was in the top five for number of likes and impressions.

For our first attempt and a last-minute one at that, I’d say it went pretty well. I’d like to see what more we can do in the future though, even outside of partnerships with law enforcement.

Like the #catchKenny campaign on ITD's Twitter account this summer, the tweet along was developed to drive engagement and paired with other promotional activities such as press releases and handouts. It also generated coverage from local broadcast news station KLEW.

To see the collection of tweets, search for @IdahoITD or type in the hashtags.

More than impressions

All tweets aside, the Dec. 28 patrol was designed to raise drivers' awareness.

Officers from several local agencies participated in a special patrol near the entrances and allowed Hopkins to ride along.

For four hours, officers looked for traffic infractions and handed out a letter—instead of a ticket—to encourage drivers to discuss safety at home. Nearly 40 drivers received the letter of explanation and warning.

“The patrol gave me the opportunity to observe, and I saw several vehicles failing to stop at the west exit and only one speeding,” Hopkins said. “I was also able to clarify how speed limits are set, so that the officers enforcing them knew why the limit is and remains 65 mph.”


Fresh perspectives will benefit the road safety audit, which is scheduled later this month.

Published 01-18-19