Off the Rails Contest winners remind youth to obey the signs!

The 2013-14 Off the Rails contest, which launched on October 1, is an exciting contest that encourages youth from across Canada to submit savvy rail safety messages, in the form of print, video or a comic strip, to drive home the message to their peers:

Stay Off, Stay Away, Stay Alive!

The 2012 Off the Rails contest winners, for the English print category, featured the “The Exacts”, also known as Xiuyuan (William) Shi and Jason Chen, both 11 years old and students in Grade 6 from Plum Tree Park Public School, Mississauga, Ontario. The team entered the contest with a thought-provoking poster that catches your eye with its powerful rail safety message: [slideshare id=26329307&doc=project159-130918190249-phpapp02&type=d] We caught up with “The Exacts” to talk about the inspiration behind their submission.

How did you find out about the Off the Rails Contest?

We heard about the contest from our teacher, Ms. Wasag.

What made you decide to enter the contest?

First the prize, second the fun of doing it.

What inspired your entry? What did you want it to say?

Prize, fun and learning. It was not easy for us to put our ideas together. We searched a lot of railway safety tips as well. We made several versions and decided to submit this one.

What rail safety message do you hope your peers will take away from your entry?

Stay away from the rails. It’s not cool.

Why are you interested in rail safety?

Accident happens due to lack of railway safety knowledge. Keep safety in mind, save lives!

How does it feel to have won?

Awesome. Not only did we feel like we learned about rail safety but we also felt rewarded.   This year’s Off the Rails Contest will garner a variety of rail safety awareness campaigns, all coming from the collective and creative minds of Canada’s youth. Let’s keep the momentum going! Share this story with your children, students and friends and encourage them to enter the contest. To top it off, there is over $11,000 in prizes to be won to spread the powerful and much-needed rail safety awareness campaign! Visit offtherailscontest.ca for all the details.