America's Teens Speaking Out for Safe Driving as Part of National Youth Traffic Safety Month in May

GAINESVILLE, Va., March 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In preparation for National Youth Traffic Safety Month (NYTSM) in May, National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) and The Allstate Foundation, are inviting America's youth to submit project proposals for a contest entitled "Act Out Loud: Raising Voices for Safe Teen Driving."

Car crashes -- often caused by preventable behavior such as distracted driving -- are the No. 1 killer of American teens, claiming nearly 6,000 teen lives annually. NYTSM activities encourage youth to be safer as drivers and passengers while celebrating those who work to keep our nation's youth safe on the roads.

This is the second year for NYTSM, which was launched by NOYS in 2007. The program encourages teens to conduct safe driving projects during May, prior to the deadly driving period between Memorial Day and Labor Day when the number of teen driving-related injuries and deaths increase.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, based on data collected between 1995 and 2005 that tracked the number of deaths in crashes involving drivers ages 13-19:

    -- Twenty-three of the top 25 deadliest days of the year fell between
       Memorial Day and Labor Day.
    -- The top three deadliest days were July 4 (Independence Day), August 8,
       and May 26 (Memorial Day).
    -- The top three deadliest months were August, July and June -- accounting
       for 29 percent of all deaths.

Act Out Loud: Raising Voices for Safe Teen Driving

With a grand prize of $10,000, the "Act Out Loud" contest will identify and reward the nation's best teen-led, school-based smart driving projects. High schools nationwide are invited to enter the contest by submitting their project proposals at http://www.ActOutLoud.org no later than midnight on Wednesday, March 26, 2008. From the school nominations, the 10 best projects (based on creativity, communication of the issue and contest theme, and ability to reach the largest number of teens) will be selected.

    The 10 selected school teams will each:

    -- Be awarded $1,000 to carry out their project
    -- Receive a video camera to document their project
    -- Receive toolkits with suggestions for executing the project and
       engaging local opinion leaders
    -- Execute their project during the last two weeks of April, to be
       unveiled nationally in early May
    -- Document their project through blog, photo and video postings at
       http://www.ActOutLoud.org

From May 1 through May 9, after the projects have been unveiled, the public will be invited to vote for their favorites at http://www.ActOutLoud.org. The winning project, based on total online votes, will be announced on May 12. The top three teams will receive cash awards to be divided equally between the schools and the Act Out Loud team to continue their safe driving efforts. The first place team will receive $10,000, second place team will receive $5,000 and third place team will receive $3,000. A $5,000 grant will also be awarded to the national traffic safety-related organization identified by the winning team.

For more information on "Act Out Loud," please log on to http://www.ActOutLoud.org or contact one of the following program representatives:

     Whitney Mares
     Media contact
     952.346.6508 (w); 612-963-8619 (c)
     wmares@webershandwick.com

     Sandy Spavone
     National Organizations for Youth Safety
     703-981-0264
     sspavone@noys.org

     Joanna Augustynski
     The Allstate Foundation
     847-402-5604
     jauge@allstate.com

About National Organizations for Youth Safety

National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) is a non-profit coalition of national organizations that focus on youth safety. Through the coalition, NOYS influences more than 80 million young people and their adult advisors. The mission of NOYS is to promote youth empowerment and leadership, and build partnerships that enhance safe and healthy lifestyles among all youth. National Youth Traffic Safety Month is the signature campaign of NOYS. For more information, log onto http://www.noys.org.

About The Allstate Foundation

Established in 1952, The Allstate Foundation is an independent, charitable organization made possible by subsidiaries of The Allstate Corporation. The Allstate Foundation partners with non-profit organizations on community initiatives that promote "safe and vital communities," "tolerance, inclusion, and diversity" and "economic empowerment." Teen driving and empowering victims of domestic violence have been major initiatives for the Foundation since 2005.