Contests aim to Put the Brakes on Fatalities

Kansas kids can win great prizes and learn about traffic safety by participating in poster and video contests as part of the annual Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day safety campaign.

Poster contest: For Kansas kids ages 5 to 13 - three statewide winners will each receive:

sKindle Fire Tablet and case from the Kansas Turnpike Authority;

s$50 gift card from Wal Mart;

s$50 Amazon gift card from the Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store

Association of Kansas;

sMovie passes from AAA Kansas.

A total of 18 regional winners in the six regions and age groups (ages 5-7, ages 8-10 and ages 11-13) will receive a bicycle and a helmet from Safe Kids Kansas. Poster entries must be postmarked by Friday, Sept. 22. Information and entry forms are available here.

Video contest: For Kansas teens in grades 8-12. Prizes include an iPad, a Go Pro and a DJI Osmo camera, and the school of the grand prize winner will receive $500 for its booster club. Video entries must be posted by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 24. Information to submit entries is available here.

The Kansas Department of Transportation, the Kansas Highway Patrol and other traffic safety organizations are sponsoring the contests.

Previous winners from the last years’ contest are listed below and can be found here

2016 Poster Contest Winners -

Northeast Kansas - Evangeline Ensign, Olathe; Austin Lamb, Osage City; Sierra de Koning, Axtell

North Central Kansas - Geni Turk, Barnes; Kelsay Mueller, Palmer; Jaydrian Jackson, Clifton

Northwest Kansas - Lucas Hansen, Almena; Christian Miller, Gorham; Makenzie Storz, Phillipsburg

Southeast Kansas - Brooklyn Green-Lawson, Riverton; Maelee Dunn, Galena; Thea Hetlinger, Parsons

South Central Kansas - Adain Smith, Andover; Von Woleslagel, Hutchinson; Natalie Williams, Great Bend

Southwest Kansas - Cadence Sherman, Meade; Kayleigh Flores, Moscow; David Doan, Garden City                               

2016 Video Contest winners –

sStudents from Wichita East High School won first place.

sStudents in Cardinal Productions at Eudora High School won second place. sStudents from Spring Hill Middle School won third place.

Touch a Truck event provides fun for all ages

The Touch a Truck event hosted more than 1,500 children and families and gave them a chance to experience a variety of important vehicles in person. 

More than 1,500 children and families had the chance to see and experience 30 vehicles on display at the Touch a Truck event last Saturday in Finney County. The event, which was hosted by the Finney County Public Library, hosted 24 organizations, including the Kansas Department of Transportation.

KDOT employees from the Garden City Sub Area stand in front of a KDOT dump truck.

The event kicked off with the arrival of the Life Team helicopter and included lunch for those attending and volunteers.  People of all ages seemed to enjoy seeing the vehicles up close. Children who attended the event interacted with KDOT vehicles by honking the horns and exploring the equipment. 

Young children explore the inside of a KDOT vehicle during the Touch a Truck event held in Garden City on July 1. 

Lisa Knoll, the KDOT Public Affairs Manager for Southwest Kansas, said that KDOT crew members answered questions and taught visitors about how the vehicles are used and how they help keep Kansas moving in various situations.

"The first thing most kids did was go straight for the loader," Knoll said. "They were intrigued with sitting in the loader and they loved honking the horn. We also showed them the dump truck.”

Knoll said that KDOT would love to participate in an event like this again if the opportunity arises.