The Kansas Traffic Safety Resource Office recently held its annual SAFE Speaks competition in which high school seniors created a 5-minute presentation on the traffic safety topic of their choosing.
Participants selected topics such as distracted driving, drowsy driving, seat belt and car seat use, and defensive driving. The presentations were judged by a panel of safety professionals who also encouraged the participants to share their talks with their local community organizations.
“We were impressed with the quality of the presentations given,” said SAFE Program Specialist Chase Hobart. “The students included a lot of research and statistics, along with telling personal stories of crashes that have affected their lives and tips on how to drive safely.”
This year, scholarships totaling $6,000 were awarded for the SAFE Speaks competition. The Kansas Sheriffs Association provided five $1,000 scholarships and the Kansas Juvenile Officers Association provided an additional $1,000 scholarship.
The 2024-25 SAFE Speaks winners are: Cailyn Murphy and Carson Umphres, who both attend Great Bend High School; Kinslea Glanville, Chase County Jr/Sr High School; Allison Johnson, Salina Central High School; Madison Newell, Ellsworth Jr/Sr High School; and Jamen Trojcak, Manhattan High School.
Each winner will be invited to share their presentation at the Kansas Teen Transportation Safety Conference held Dec. 10-11 in Wichita.
SAFE, an acronym for Seatbelts Are For Everyone, is a free, student-led program for middle and high school students focusing on peer-to-peer promotion of traffic safety.
Through education, rewards, and enforcement, SAFE highlights the importance of wearing a seatbelt, driving alert, and following traffic laws with the goal of decreasing the number of teen injuries and deaths from vehicle crashes. The program is available in Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Iowa.
For more information on SAFE and other traffic safety programs in Kansas, visit ktsro.org.