Share Your MoDOT Seat Belt Video on Patch, Earn a Scholarship

For the fourth year in a row, the Missouri Department of Transportation is sponsoring its "Battle of the Belt" contest, inviting students around Missouri to produce a 30-second commercial promoting seat belt use.

This year, Patch joins the contest with an additional prize category: The readers' choice prize, good for a $250 scholarship contribution for the winning entry. That joins the Gold, Silver and Most Improved categories MoDOT already has.

Why this contest? Because MoDOT says Missouri teen safety belt usage rate for 2011 was only 67 percent. Not good enough, officials say. Battle of the Belt is a safety belt competition between Missouri high schools to encourage the use of safety belts among students.

If you're already producing your video for MoDOT's contest, share it on Patch to enter the readers' choice category. The rules call for a 30-second video public service announcement (commercial) promoting safety belt use among young drivers.

To share your video on Patch, click the "Upload Photos and Videos" button on this page and follow the instructions. Files should be under 200 MB and should be .MOV, .MP4 or .MPG files.

You can upload your video from now through Dec. 1; that's when voting will start.

Please be sure to include a caption with your video including the names of the students who submitted; the name of the video; name of the school/district; and the name of the district coordinator.

Here's a link to MoDOT's page showing how you can enter its contest.

And here's what the lawyers want you to know about this contest:

• Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.
• To enter, upload your video using the "Upload Photos and Videos" button on this page. Include a caption with your video including the names of the students who submitted; the name of the video; name of the school/district; and the name of the district coordinator.
• All entries must be received by 5 p.m. Dec. 1, 2012, St. Louis time.
• You may enter as often as you wish.
• One winners will be selected in by reader vote.
• The winning entry will receive a $250 scholarship contribution.
• View the PDF attached to this article for the full official rules.