Sikeston students win PSA contest

"That's my habit -- whether I'm driving or riding, I belt up. My volleyball season was cut short, but my life wasn't. I'll play again next season because I took an extra moment to click -- will you?"

That is the plea Rachel Beydler makes in a 30-second public service announcement that won the 16-year-old Sikeston High School sophomore $1,000 in a statewide competition called "Restrain Yourself."

Sharing the honors was Michael Sansagraw, a senior enrolled in a video production course at Sikeston Career and Technology Center, who teamed up with Beydler for the PSA. SCTC received $1,000 as well.

The contest was sponsored by Missouri Department of Transportation, Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety, Missouri State Medical Association, Missouri Safety Council and State Farm Insurance.

Another senior, Nick Nielsen, received special recognition for his video contribution, with a trophy and certificate. Altogether the SCTC video production class contributed 15 entries.

What prompted the contest were the results of a recent teen safety belt survey which found safety belt use among Missouri teens at 56 percent. This usage rate is dramatically lower than Missouri's overall safety belt usage rate of 77 percent.

Beydler entered the competition to persuade other teens to buckle up because of her car wreck in October that resulted in a severe concussion, stitches in her head and a totaled vehicle. She survived the wreck because of the seat belt she was wearing.

A total of 139 entries were submitted by 399 students statewide. Individual television stations will decide if they want to run the PSAs.

The 30-second spot, which introduces viewers to Beydler as the sophomore class president, No. 1 in her class and center for the varsity volleyball team, shows an image of Beydler's car after it was struck broadside, followed by the narrative.

Young drivers represent 11 percent of licensed drivers and were involved in 29 percent of the traffic crashes in 2004, according to the 2004 Traffic Safety Compendium produced by the Statistical Analysis Center of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Leonna Heuring of the Standard Democrat in Sikeston contributed to this article.