Indiana, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) today announced that a sister/brother team from Reach Cyber Charter School has been selected as one of the PennDOT Innovations Challenge winners. The PennDOT Innovations Challenge – now in its eighth year – is a statewide competition for high school students to develop creative and strategic solutions to real-world transportation challenges.
The Innovations Challenge reflects the Shapiro Administration’s focus on a safe, efficient transportation system and gives students an opportunity to explore a career in state government.
Mentored by Karen McGahee, the team consisted of Lucie and Dominic Richter, a sister and brother who live in Butler County in PennDOT’s District 10. Reach Cyber Charter School is a statewide cyber school that is based in Dauphin County in PennDOT’s District 8.
“More than 90 percent of the unbelted travelers who died in crashes on our roads last year could have been saved by seat belts,” said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. “In a crash, a seat belt can mean the difference between life and death. We need to reach our drivers and riders with that message.”
For this year’s challenge, students were asked to develop a cost-effective, innovative solution that can help PennDOT more effectively increase motorist awareness for seat belt safety and change driver behavior to improve roadway safety.
On average, more than 350 unrestrained fatalities occur on Pennsylvania’s roadways annually. PennDOT is committed to continuously improving roadway safety and deploys a multi-faceted strategy, which involves promoting behavioral programs and implementing infrastructure improvements. Nevertheless, the number of unrestrained fatalities remains high and changing driver behavior is crucial to solving this issue.
The winning regional team’s innovation was called “Young Influencers,” and focused on a campaign that would use social media and viral content to offer a sustainable low-cost model with a Public Service Announcement contest and motivational storytelling. Part of the innovation uses social media influencers to encourage young people to buckle up.
Regional Innovations Challenge winners will be invited to present their solutions to the PennDOT Secretary and a panel of judges, when a statewide winner will be determined. For this year’s challenge, the Transportation Policy and Education Foundation, an educational arm of the Associated Pennsylvania Constructors organization, the American Council of Engineering Companies of PA, the Mid-Atlantic Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers and the Intelligent Transportation Society of Pennsylvania are providing a combined total award of $6,000 to the statewide winning team.
For complete Innovations Challenge details, visit the PennDOT website.
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MEDIA CONTACTS: Fritzi Schreffler, District 8, fschreffle@pa.gov or Christina Gibbs, District 10, chgibbs@pa.gov