Operation Lifesaver launches “Bad Move” pedestrian safety PSA with online contest
Nonprofit organization's contest uses QR Codes, social media to raise awareness of track dangers
WASHINGTON, DC, October 11, 2011 – Operation Lifesaver (OLI, www.oli.org), the national, nonprofit rail safety education organization, invites people to submit ideas for an ending to Bad Move, its new public service announcement (PSA) through an online contest (http://bit.ly/nvaABL). The PSA, which tells the story of a young couple who choose a dangerous place to walk, targets ages 16-34 with a goal of reducing pedestrian-rail trespass injuries and deaths. The Federal Railroad Administration (www.fra.dot.gov) provided Operation Lifesaver’s grant for the campaign; Amtrak is providing a pair of tickets for the winning idea. Capital MetroRail in Austin, Texas and other transit agencies will participate in this safety campaign.
“This contest to launch our new safety video will use the power of the internet to show pedestrians that all train tracks can be dangerous – not to mention an illegal place to walk,” said Helen M. Sramek, president, Operation Lifesaver, Inc. “We also encourage people to spread the word about this new campaign to friends, families and co-workers through social media by voting for their favorite PSA ending.”
View the PSA online at www.oli.org/badmove; contest details are at http://bit.ly/nvaABL.
The contest, which runs through October 31, 2011, invites visitors to OLI’s Vimeo channel to view Bad Move, watch the three alternate endings, and submit an idea for how the video should end by sending an email to badmove@oli.org. A panel of expert judges will choose the most original ending idea that incorporates a safety message in keeping with the mission of Operation Lifesaver. The winner will receive two Amtrak tickets for a trip anywhere in the U.S. The tickets will be valid for travel through October 31, 2012.
People who don’t want to enter the write your own ending contest can vote on which of the three alternate endings they prefer by:
1) Voting on OLI’s Facebook page under Questions: www.facebook.com/operation.lifesaver (Visitors to OLI’s Facebook page can share the PSA with friends and ask them to vote); or
2) If they are on Twitter (OL’s Twitter page: www.twitter.com/olinational) by posting a tweet with the hashtag for the ending they prefer: a - #JessieOL, b - #RobertOL, or c - #SgtRodriguezOL.
Throughout October, state Operation Lifesaver programs will distribute posters from the PSA that have a web link and a Quick Response code leading mobile users to the PSA. The posters – placed on college campuses, in stations, coffee shops, and other venues – will draw people to the contest and Operation Lifesaver’s safety message.
“More than 440 Americans were killed last year while on train tracks, a six percent increase from 2009; through June of 2011, pedestrian-train deaths were matching 2010 levels,” said Operation Lifesaver, Inc. President Helen M. Sramek. “As freight and passenger rail operations around the U.S. continue to grow, Operation Lifesaver’s pedestrian safety message – stay off the tracks, stay alive – is more important than ever,” she said.
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Phone 703.739.0284, toll-free 800-537-6224
email medwards@oli.org
Operation Lifesaver (www.oli.org) is a national, non-profit safety education group whose goal is to eliminate deaths and injuries at railroad crossings and along railroad rights of way. It has programs in all 50 states with trained and certified presenters who provide free talks to raise the public’s safety awareness around tracks and trains.
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