HARRISBURG – After reviewing more than 200 submissions from high school students across the state, PennDOT Secretary Allen D. Biehler, P.E. today announced the 11 winning entries of the “Drive Safe PA” radio contest.
“We were overwhelmed with the positive response and the enthusiasm expressed by the students,” Biehler said. “They demonstrated creativity and uniqueness, while still conveying the importance of highway safety. We hope that motorists of all ages will heed this advice and listen to the ideas of Pennsylvania’s young drivers.”
The eleven winners were selected by choosing the best entry from each of PennDOT’s local engineering districts. The winning students will be invited to Harrisburg this month to have their winning public service announcement, or PSA, professionally recorded. The PSAs will be distributed to local radio stations in May as part of National Youth Traffic Safety month. Winning students will also receive certificates and finished copies of the PSA during presentations at their school.
PennDOT introduced the “Drive Safe PA” contest in February, asking high school sophomores, juniors and seniors to create a 30-second radio PSA focused on aggressive driving, buckling up or driving under the influence. Students were required to include the phrase “Drive Safe PA,” which PennDOT introduced earlier this year to remind motorists to avoid life-threatening behaviors behind the wheel. Through Drive Safe PA, PennDOT aims to save at least 100 more lives each year on Pennsylvania roads, with the goal of reducing fatalities to 1,150 or fewer by 2011.
For more information on what you can do to make a difference in highway safety, contact the PennDOT Press Office at RA-penndotpress@state.pa.us.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Following is a list of Drive Safe PA contest winners.
District 1 (Crawford, Erie, Forest, Mercer, Venango and Warren counties) Mark Holcomb, Cameron Bish, Holly Bond, Robert Courtney, Mathew Johnson, Morgan Thompson – Conneaut Lake High School, Crawford County.
District 2 (Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, McKean and Potter counties) Matt Shadle – Galeton High School, Potter County.
District 3 (Bradford, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga and Union counties) Michael S. Flood – Midd-West High School, Union County.
District 4 (Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties) Chris Cassel, James Coffman, Cassandra Correa, Allen Daniels, Joe Devita, Mark Dotter, James Frei, Steve Glatz, Dave Gumble, Nick Hengerle, Matthew Jenks,
Samantha Kelly, Alec McKenna, Dillon Nesco, Steve Pranzo, Matt Ree, Chris Rhatigan, Victor Robertazza, Chris Rolan, Thomas Salkoskas, Chris Schneider, Brandon Weekes, Michael Zayatz – Wallenpaupack Area High School, Wayne County.
District 5 (Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton and Schuylkill counties) Jeff Beers – Palmerton Area High School, Carbon County.
District 6 (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties) Jamie Ellis – Archbishop Wood High School, Bucks County.
District 8 (Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York counties) Courtney Peterson, Madison McSherry, Emily Schaeffer, Natasha Stanley, Jen Mills – Central York High School, York County.
District 9 (Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon and Somerset counties) Meghan McCabe – Bishop Carroll High School, Cambria County.
District 10 (Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Indiana and Jefferson counties): Dillen Statler – Elderton Junior/Senior High School, Armstrong County.
District 11 (Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties) Jessica Copper, Jessica Olson, Jay Copper, Sean Gwin – New Castle High School, Lawrence County.
District 12 (Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties) Rebecca Coulson – Belle Vernon Area High School, Fayette County.