WASHINGTON – Budding artists from across the United States recently participated in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) 2021 Road Safety Student Art Contest.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and FMCSA Deputy Administrator Meera Joshi announced the winners in a congratulatory video.
“Every year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration asks young artists to help raise awareness about how important it is to keep people safe on the road – and this year’s submissions were terrific,” Buttigieg said. “I want to thank every student who chose to share your art with us.”
“You’ve used art to create powerful and important messages,” said FMCSA Deputy Administrator Meera Joshi in congratulating all of the winners, adding, “What you’ve done with color and images drives home the message of safety in a way words alone just cannot.”
The winning artwork of the following 12 students will be showcased in the U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters building in Washington, D.C., as well as featured in the 2022 Road Safety Student Art calendar that will be available later this year.
Grand Prize winners:
FMCSA People’s Choice Art Contest Awards Winners:
Honorable Mention recipients:
Pranav Balakrishnan, Plano, Texas
Preetiggah Sudhakar, Simpsonville, South Carolina
Karthikeya Vattem, McDonald, Pennsylvania
Lynn Sun, Livingston, New Jersey
“This year’s Road Safety Student Art Contest challenged students ranging from kindergarten through high school to design and create motivational artwork providing safety messaging for all roadway users — truck and bus operators, passenger vehicle drivers, motorcyclists, scooter riders, bicyclists, skateboarders, and pedestrians,” an FMCSA news release stated.
Conducted annually, the contest is sponsored under FMCSA’s Our Roads, Our Safety Partnership, which comprises more than 30 governmental, safety, industry and private organizations.
“Every roadway traveler, young to old, can help save lives and reduce injuries by always making safety a priority,” according to the news release. “Always buckle up, avoid becoming distracted, stay alert, and pay attention when entering crossways.”
Contest rules call on the young artists to remind commercial truck and bus operators to do their part for safety, while also reminding everyone to give large commercial motor vehicles extra room to maneuver.
“Never cut in front of a large truck or bus, never tailgate, and most importantly, avoid lingering in the drivers’ blind spots – ‘The No Zone’ – along the sides, immediately in front, and behind the vehicle where you cannot be seen,” the news release stated.
The art contest winners were announced during Trucker Appreciation Week earlier this month.
“During National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, the Nation recognizes the absolute vitalness of the trucking industry to the Nation’s supply chain and overall health of our economy,” said FMCSA Deputy Administrator Joshi. “All our food, medicines, fuel, supplies we need to survive – everything is transported by a professional truck driver. In just the past eight months, millions of grateful Americans have been protected from the pandemic thanks to countless hero truck drivers who delivered the COVID-19 vaccines. We owe them an incredible debt of gratitude.”
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
