Richmond,Va. – The DMV kicks off the start of the Virginia license plate design contest in hopes to bring awareness of the dangers of distracted drivers in our area. The contest is open to all high school students in the state of Virginia starting Wednesday.
They are required to design a license plate demonstrating distraction-free driving. A total of eight finalists will be chosen and given a chance to win 1,000 and be named the official artist of Virginia’s new official license plate.
The DMV is starting this campaign due to the sobering statistics on the amount of people affected by distracted teen drivers. According to officials in 2016 alone about 800 Virginians were injured and 13 people were killed due to teens becoming distracted while driving.
“Distraction comes in all forms,” Deputy Commissioner of Department of Motor Vehicles George Bishop said.
“Distraction can be your cellphone distraction can be the passenger in your car. Distraction can be when you have multiple passengers in your car. It can even be when you are eating.”
Drivers of the ages 16 and 17 with each additional passenger in the car, increase the risk of being killed in a crash. On the other hand, this risk decreases by 62 percent when an adult aged 35 and up is in the vehicle.
The competition closes on Dec.15. If you or know anyone who would be interested in participating in the competition follow this link to sign up.