IDOT Announces Results of Fifth Annual Work Zone Safety Statewide Calendar Contest

SPRINGFIELD - Today, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is honoring 12 students from across the state whose art work was selected in the 2009-2010 Fifth Annual Illinois Work Zone Safety Calendar Contest.  The drawings of the twelve finalists will appear in the 2011 Illinois Work Zone Safety Calendar, which will be distributed at IDOT events across Illinois.

“I would like to extend congratulations to these 12 students on a job well done,” said IDOT Secretary Gary Hannig.  “They have taken on tremendous responsibility to promote work zone safety issues and we are proud to recognize them for their efforts and to display their work in our calendars for thousands of people in Illinois to see.”

The Illinois State Board of Education and IDOT joined the Illinois Chapter of the American Traffic Safety Service Association (ATSSA) and the American Traffic Safety Services Foundation (ATSSF) to coordinate the statewide calendar contest to promote work zone safety by introducing children at an early age to safe driving techniques.  The idea is to instill a lifelong awareness of work zone hazards and foster safe driving behavior in the future.  Children were asked to draw their view of a work zone. 

Over 1,400 students from various schools across the state participated in the Illinois calendar contest. Students in kindergarten through sixth-grade in public and private elementary schools around the state were eligible to participate in this contest.  There are three categories:  kindergarten through first grade, second through fourth grade and fifth through sixth-grade.

Since the contest began in 2005, over 9,100 students have participated in helping IDOT promote work zone safety. IDOT has worked tirelessly to encourage students and their parents or caregivers to become aware of the importance of driving safely in work zones.  The top 12 finalists from Illinois have their entries on the IDOT website.  Their drawings can be viewed at www.dot.il.gov/trafficsafety/WZS/WZScontest.html.