BVA student’s winning design is now a billboard about distracted driving
A Belle Vernon Area High School student’s winning design is now on a billboard in the Mon Valley with a message warning motorists about the dangers of distracted driving.
The poster created by Logan Dimpel carries a brief message stating “It can wait, safety can’t,” and it has been enlarged and placed along Route 51 south, a short distance from her school in Rostraver Township.
“I had never seen the slogan. It just came out of my head,” said Dimpel, a BVA junior.
The state Department of Transportation and others sponsored the contest offered to five schools with Students Against Destructive Decisions clubs, including McGuffey, PennDOT spokesman Jay Ofsanik said.
The rules required a design that was not filled with clutter or too big, with a message that can be noticed in four seconds or less.
Dimpel’s billboard also shows a photograph of her smartphone resting on the console of her father’s pickup truck.
“I’m passionate about SADD,” she said. “It just struck a chord in me.”
State Farm Insurance donated a $1,000 check to the school’s club and gave Dimpel $100 for winning the contest.
Club sponsor Vickie McCullough said it’s important in high schools to have peer-to-peer advice about destructive decisions.
“It’s much more powerful, effective,” said McCullough, who also is the school nurse.