LAWRENCEVILLE — The Georgia Department of Transportation has a message for political candidates: You are wasting money by putting signs in the right of way.

DOT maintenance crews will remove the signs as they are completing routine work such as mowing the grass and picking up trash. But taking down the signs costs the state department time and money, said Teri Pope, a spokeswoman for the Georgia DOT.

Candidates are also wasting their own money, because the collected signs will be destroyed, Pope said.

“We don’t care what the sign says,” Pope said. “Our issue is safety, not candidacy for anyone.”

Signs in the right of way can be a safety hazard, Pope said. They can block sight distance and create sign pollution, making it difficult for motorists to notice signs that direct traffic.

“Georgia law stipulates that the department is required to maintain a state roadway for the traveling public, which includes the immediate removal of any obstruction or hazard that may pose a threat to the traveling public,” said Eric Pitts, Georgia DOT’s assistant state maintenance engineer.

“Any sign along Georgia’s state routes and interstates must meet safety standards and be permitted by Georgia DOT to be in our right of way,” he added. “Typically we find signs that advertise yard sales, real estate for sale and/or political candidates on Department land adjacent to our roads. None of those types of signs are allowed and will be removed by our personnel.”

Right of way is defined as the strip of land over which facilities such as highways, railroads or power lines are built and maintained, Pitts said.