2008-61
NEWS RELEASE:  June 25, 2008
FROM:   The Kansas Highway Patrol
CONTACT:   TechTRP Edna Buttler (785)296-6800
Cait Purinton-Day (785) 296-6800
Phyllis Marotta, KDOT, (785) 296-7416

Youth Traffic Safety Month Contest Winners Announced

The Kansas Highway Patrol and the Kansas Department of Transportation are pleased to announce the winners of the Youth Traffic Safety Month scholarship contest that was hosted in May. The contest encouraged teens to talk to one another about the importance of traffic safety, including promoting messages about seat belt use, distracted driving, impaired driving, motorcycle safety, and speeding. Participants were asked to enter a poster, radio public service announcement, or television public service announcement.

And, the winners are…

• 11X17 Poster: Ricardo Prieto, of Bucklin, Kansas
• 30-Second Radio Public Service Announcement: Sydney Zortz, of Weir, Kansas
• 30-Second TV Public Service Announcement: Sydney Zortz, of Weir, Kansas

"We were very impressed by the ingenuity that the teens displayed in their entries," said Pete Bodyk, Chief of KDOT's Bureau of Traffic Safety. "This contest was a great opportunity for teens to use their stories and experiences to educate others about the importance of traffic safety. The creativity of all the entries made it difficult to select the winners."

Highway Patrol Superintendent Colonel Terry Maple said, "Reviewing the entries was a learning experience for us, as well. We could see that the messages we promote as traffic safety partners are reaching young drivers. In addition, we learned what topics and messages are important to the teens through the messages they created on their own, such as not using their cell phones to talk or text message while driving."

Each winner will receive a $500 scholarship upon enrollment at a Kansas institution of higher learning of his or her choice. The winning entries and the runners-up can be viewed on the Kansas Highway Patrol’s Web site at www.kansashighwaypatrol.org.