DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Florida Department of Transportation spent more than $800,000 on a campaign to raise awareness about bicycle and pedestrian safety, but was the money well-spent?
Part of the money paid for a race car sponsorship in Daytona this weekend, but that car ended up crashing during the X-Finity series race.
Channel 9's Daralene Jones spoke with some fans who said they never noticed the ad on the car, and most said they did not.
The No. 10 car was driven by Scott Lagasse Jr., who got caught in the wreckage with only 27 laps to go on Saturday.
That means the taxpayer-funded car was on the track for most of the race and plenty of time to get FDOT's message across.
FDOT's goal was to use a message – "Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow" – on the car to promote pedestrian and bicycle safety.
"I didn't see it on the car," said race fan Geno Bonano.
Even after Channel 9 showed them a photo of the car, most race fans said they couldn’t recall seeing the message on it.
"Did you happen to notice this car at all in the race on Saturday?" Jones asked race fan Lori Hyde.
"No. 10, yes," said Hyde.
"Did you pay attention to the message on the car?" asked Jones.
"No," replied Hyde.
Hyde said she did notice static billboards around the track with the same message.
A spokesperson for FDOT said the money for the campaign comes from the federal government and can only be used for enforcement and education and marketing campaigns, like the one on the car and at the speedway.
"It could've been spent better, more wisely," said race fan Diana Hamley. "Billboards or even just the signs they put around the track."
"If I didn't notice, (it should) probably be considered a waste," said Bonano.
A spokesperson for FDOT told Channel 9 they will evaluate whether the exposure was effective and whether they reached the target audience.
The sponsorship package allows FDOT to advertise during races through July.
WFTV
