Speeding continues to be one of the leading causes of traffic crashes, responsible for more than 25 percent of all traffic fatalities.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 9,536 people died in speeding-related crashes in 2015, which is why the National Road Safety Foundation is inviting teens to submit their ideas for messages to help educate their peers and others about the dangers of speeding.
Entries are now open for the annual Drive2Life PSA Contest, with the theme “help prevent speeding.”
Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, will promote the contest and has developed lesson plans for teachers on speeding and related issues.
The Drive2Life winner will receive a $1,000 prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to work with an Emmy Award-winning director to turn his or her idea into a public service message that will be broadcast nationwide next May during Global Youth Traffic Safety Month. Two runners-up in each grade category (grades 6–8, 9–12) each will receive $500.
“Speeding is a dangerous driving behavior that is often overlooked,” said Michelle Anderson of the National Road Safety Foundation (NRSF), a nonprofit group that creates driver safety programs distributed free to schools, police and traffic safety advocates. “It’s not always going faster than the posted speed limit. Speeding can also be driving too fast for road and weather conditions, which can lead to loss of control and a deadly crash.”
Students in grades 6 through 12 are invited to submit a concept for a 30-second PSA to help prevent speeding. Submissions must be in the form of scripts or storyboards. No videos or group PSAs entries will be accepted. The entry deadline is Feb. 2, 2018. For more information, visit www.nrsf.org/teenlane or www.scholastic.com/Drive2Life.
