STATEWIDE –  Caltrans says they need help naming their new mascot. The “Move Over Mascot Naming Contest” ending January 20, 2023, will award a student and teacher $500 each, a laptop, t-shirts for the whole class and a visit from the cone-shaped mascot.

Every year highway workers are injured or killed while on the job. 

In June, Caltrans Landscape Maintenance Worker Quanda McGadney, 51, was killed in a hit-and-run while working on Interstate 80 in Vacaville.

Caltrans, the department that manages California’s highway system, wants to bring safety awareness for highway workers. 

“Did you know the traffic cones you see along roadways have helped protect highway workers for more than 80 years? Safety cones play a huge role here in California,” says the Caltrans contest site.

The department says safety cones are important indicators for drivers to reduce speed, be extra alert, watch out – and in some cases move over to the next lane if it is safe to do so – for highway workers, law enforcement, emergency personnel, and tow truck drivers. 

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The “Move Over Mascot Naming Contest” is accepting name submissions from students in California between the ages of 5 and 18.  

The prizes include:

• Laptop and $500 gift card for winning student
• $500 teacher’s class gift card
• Go Safely mascot t-shirts for entire classroom
• Mascot visit to winning classroom to deliver prize

Winners will be announced by January 31, 2023. All prizes are provided courtesy of iHeartMedia.

For more information about the “Move Over Mascot Naming Contest” visit https://gosafelyca.org/mascot-naming-contest/