GEICO Invites Young Artists to Illustrate Importance of Buckling Up

WASHINGTON--To capture the talent of older teen artists and to help get their attention, a new contest invites 16-to-18-year-old high school students to enter its 20^th annual Safety Belt Poster Contest for the first time.

The annual GEICO competition (www.geico.com/about/poster/) reprints and circulates the winning posters and distributes cash awards to regional and national winners across the country. The contest continues through January 19, 2008.

Because new teen drivers have the highest crash rates of any age group—and often drive unbelted—the contest encourages them to take the message more seriously by illustrating it. According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA), 55 percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle occupants were not using their safety belts in 2005. From 1975 through 2005, NHTSA estimates 211,128 lives were saved by safety belts.

Also new to the national competition this year will be a category for computer-generated art.

The Safety Belt Poster Contest is open to public, private and home-schooled students, ages 6 through 18, as of Sept. 1, 2007. The contest is divided into four age groups: 6 to 8, 9 to 11, 12 to 15, and 16 to 18, and conducted in eight regions around the country. Entries are initially judged within each age group from the same region. First-place winning posters in each age group advance to the national judging in Washington, D.C.

One grand-prize winner in each age group will be selected, along with a national winner in the computer-generated poster category, for a total of five national winners.

National winners could win up to $650 for themselves and $500 for their school’s art program. Regional winners also earn cash awards.

Teens can help spread the word that safety belts save lives by entering the poster contest. Complete contest rules and entry information is online at www.geico.com/about/poster/.

GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company) is the fourth-largest private passenger auto insurer in the United States. It provides auto insurance coverage for more than 8 million policyholders and insures more than 13 million vehicles. As a member of the Berkshire Hathaway group of companies, GEICO is rated A++ for financial stability by A.M. Best Company and ranks at the top of several national customer satisfaction surveys. For more information, go to www.geico.com.