Transportation Cabinet
“GOOD HABITS SAVE LIVES” Transportation Cabinet Poster Contest Encourages School Children to “Buckle Up”

FRANKFORT, KY ( January 19, 2006) – The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, today, introduced a new contest aimed at instilling life-saving habits into the lives of Kentucky children. The Cabinet’s Traffic Safety Poster Contest is designed to increase general Traffic Safety Awareness among children and to help make children aware of the many devastating effects of bad habits, like Not Buckling Up.

Transportation Cabinet Secretary, Bill Nighbert, reminded everyone that Kentucky ranks 47th in the nation in safety belt usage. “If we have any hope of changing that unfortunate statistic, we have to change attitudes and perceptions about proven safety procedures,” Nighbert said, “and we really need to introduce safety awareness at an early age. We have a simple message for all young people: ‘Give Yourself a Chance.’ If you fasten your seatbelt, you can save your life, and you can come out of a crash with far less serious injuries.”

While the contest is open to all children ages six through seventeen, a particular area of concern is the teen driver category. “Early teens are the least likely to be restrained,” said Boyd Sigler, Highway Safety Operations Manager for the Transportation Cabinet. “They’re subject to a lot of misinformed peer pressure. They are also more likely to die in a traffic accident. I’m sorry to say that the statistics do not lie. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of teen deaths in America. Two-thirds of them were not wearing seat belts.” Sigler also pointed out that of all traffic-related fatalities in Kentucky, regardless of age, two-thirds were not buckled up.

Entries in the Traffic Safety Poster Contest will be judged in three age groups: 6-9, 10-13, and 14-17.  The awards will be announced at the Lifesavers Conference in April. 

Entries must be postmarked by March 31, 2006 and sent to:

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet

Traffic Safety Program

Division of Operations

200 Mero Street

Frankfort, KY  40622

For more information about the contest, visit http://highwaysafety.ky.gov/.

Download entry form.

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