Auto Safety Theme for AAA Poster Contest

Students aged 3 to 14 are encouraged to use their creative talents to spread the message of auto safety.

The AAA New Jersey Automobile Club is asking students to submit posters to an annual Traffic Safety Poster Contest, and the winners could receive up to $3,000 in prize money.

Until March 1, students are encouraged to showcase their artistic talents and traffic safety knowledge, involving three areas — pedestrian, child passenger and novice driver safety.

“Motor vehicle-related crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 3-6 and 8-14,” said Cathleen Lewis, director of public affairs for the Florham Park-based Club.  “AAA remains committed to educating the public in an effort to prevent unnecessary tragedies.”

Students in grades K-8 may submit an original hand-drawn poster, while students in grades 9-12 may submit a hand-drawn poster, a graphic art/digitally enhanced design or a one- to two-minute video public service announcement.

Grade categories and themes for the poster contest will be broken down as follows:

• KINDERGARTEN – Pedestrian & Child Passenger Safety

• PRIMARY (Grades 1-2) – Pedestrian and Child Passenger Safety

• ELEMENTARY (Grades 3–5)  – Getting to School Safely

• JUNIOR HIGH (Grades 6–8) – How to Be a Good Passenger

• SENIOR HIGH (Grades 9–12) – Safe Teen Driving

Submissions will be judged at the state level on the relationship of the entry design to proper traffic safety practices, originality, creativity and execution, visual impact and relevance of the safety slogan.

Entries in each grade category will compete for a shot at more than $3,000 in prize money.

Additionally, each teacher whose student wins first place will receive $50 in prize money.

The winning posters will be featured on the AAA New Jersey Automobile Club’s website at aaa.com/postercontest.