Clearfield, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) today announced that students Kali Nicolas and Maya Toyokawa from the State College Area School District in Centre County have been selected as the PennDOT Innovations Challenge winners in the Clearfield-based nine county District 2. 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.
Mentored by teacher Bridget Ciolkosz, Nicolas and Toyokawa answered the call of this year’s challenge, which asked students to develop a cost-effective, innovative solution that can help PennDOT more effectively increase motorist awareness of seat belt safety. The team proposed “Belt Buddy”, a mobile app that tracks seat belt usage. The app would detect seat belt chimes in a car to determine if the occupants are belted in. It would have a point reward system and remind users of their streak of wearing a seat belt, and would allow users to share their status with friends, spurring competition that would inspire continued use.
“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.”
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 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.
Regional Innovations Challenge winners will be invited to present their solutions to the PennDOT Secretary and a panel of judges in April, 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.
Subscribe to PennDOT news and traffic alerts in Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Juniata, McKean, Mifflin, and Potter counties at www.penndot.pa.gov/District2.
Information about infrastructure in District 2, including completed work and significant projects, is available at http://www.penndot.pa.gov/D2Results. Find PennDOT’s planned and active construction projects at https://gis.penndot.pa.gov/paprojects/.
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CONTACT: Timothy Nebgen, tnebgen@pa.gov or 814-765-0598 or Steve Harmic, sharmic@pa.gov or 814-496-6189.