Iowa DOT News Release

AMES, Iowa – Aug. 30, 2010 – One lucky - and safe - Iowa teen will win a brand new Ford Focus as part of the second Sweet Ride on the Safe Side education promotion.

To assist in educating Iowa youth on the state’s new anti-texting while driving and seat belt laws, Charles Gabus Ford, KDSM-Fox 17 and the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT), as part of the Iowa Traffic Safety Alliance, have teamed up to promote teen driver safety. A similar promotion three years ago geared toward work zone safety registered more than 10,000 hits to www.sweetridecontest.com and more than 3,000 teens entered to win a car.

Contest sponsors expect the Web site to be even more popular with young Iowans this time around because of its interactive features and theme, making it an effective way to reach the most inexperienced and vulnerable Iowa drivers, save lives and reduce injuries.

This year’s promotion, which has a superhero theme, runs in a similar manner as the previous contest. To enter, contestants must watch an online educational video about Iowa’s new anti-texting while driving and seat belt laws as they pertain to teen drivers. The contestant then must successfully complete a short safety quiz to be entered into the contest to win the car. The contest runs through March 29, 2011, and the car will be awarded at a special event in April 2011.

This imaginative Web site, designed by the Iowa DOT, includes many unique features and takes advantage of technologies popular with the targeted age group, including a streaming video produced by KDSM.

The promotion is sponsored by the following organizations and businesses.

Title sponsors

Charles Gabus Ford

KDSM-Fox 17

Iowa Traffic Safety Alliance

Super Hero

AAA of Minnesota/Iowa

Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau, Iowa Department of Public Safety

Iowa Department of Transportation

Hero

Iowa Concrete Paving Association

Sidekick

Iowa-Illinois Safety Council

Iowa Health Systems-ThinkFirst Iowa

Take a Sweet Ride on the Safe Side. No purchase is necessary. Contest void where prohibited. See Web site for complete contest rules.

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Contact:  Dena Gray-Fisher at 515-239-1922 or dena.grayfisher@dot.iowa.gov