Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) today announced that a team of students from Monroe Career and Technical Institute in Bartonsville has been selected as the statewide winner for the 2025 Innovations Challenge. Mentored by Ross Ruschman, a teacher at Monroe Career and Technical Institute, team members included Leylla Joseph and Neylla Joseph.
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.
For this year’s challenge, students were asked to develop a cost-effective, innovative solution that can help PennDOT more effectively increase awareness for seat belt safety and change driver behavior to improve roadway safety.
“This year, the Innovations Challenge wasn’t a new problem. It was one of the oldest issues in transportation,” said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. “I am astounded by the level of thought and attention given to seat belt awareness by forward-thinking students from around the state. I look forward to seatbelt compliance becoming a concern of the past as leaders like these take to the roads.”
The winning team’s proposed solution to this year’s challenge was “Love. Life. Click.,” a strategic initiative designed to raise awareness for seat belt safety and improve driving behavior. The “Love. Life. Click.” strategy leverages modern tactics, such as social media campaigns, influencer partnerships and mobile apps, to engage a tech-savvy audience and spread key safety messages. By incorporating interactive elements and offering incentives, the campaign encourages consistent seat belt use, aimed at changing driving behavior and promoting safer roadways for all.
Ten regional winners were selected earlier this year and invited to present their solutions to the PennDOT secretary and a panel of judges in Harrisburg to determine the statewide winner. For this year’s challenge, the following organizations provided a combined total of $6,000 to the statewide winning team:
- Transportation Policy and Education Foundation, an educational arm of the Associated Pennsylvania Constructors (APC)
- American Council of Engineering Companies of PA (ACEC/PA),
- Mid-Atlantic Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (MASITE)
- Intelligent Transportation Society of Pennsylvania (ITSPA)
For complete Innovations Challenge details, visit www.penndot.pa.gov/innovation and click on Innovations Challenge. Photos of team presentations from the statewide judging event can be found here.
Subscribe to statewide PennDOT news and traffic alerts at www.penndot.pa.gov/news or choose a region under “Regional Offices.” Information about the state’s infrastructure and results PennDOT is delivering for Pennsylvanians can be found at www.penndot.pa.gov/results. Find PennDOT’s planned and active construction projects at www.projects.penndot.gov.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Zachary Appleby, zappleby@pa.gov or 717-783-8800
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