Monday, August 2, 2010

Kids ages 5 to 13 in Kansas are encouraged to enter artwork for a statewide poster contest focusing on Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day - a nationwide effort to increase roadway safety and reduce all traffic fatalities.

Three statewide winners will receive family packages at the Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City. Statewide winners will also receive $50 gas cards from QuikTrip Corporation.

A total of 18 regional winners in the six regions and age groups (ages 5-7, ages 8-10 and ages 11-13) across the state will each receive a bicycle donated by Wal-Mart stores in Kansas as well as a helmet donated by Safe Kids Kansas.

All entries must be postmarked by Friday, Sept. 3, and should be mailed to: AAA Kansas, Public Affairs, 3545 SW 6th Street, Topeka, KS, 66606. On the back of the 8 ½ by 11-inch paper entry must be the child’s full name; age at time of entry; mailing address; county; a parent’s name; and contact phone number. For more information, go to KDOT’s Internet main website page at www.ksdot.org.

Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death in the U.S. for people ages 6-33. It’s important to encourage everyone – drivers, passengers, pedestrians and bicyclists – to take extra caution every day and especially on Oct. 10, the day officially designated as Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day.