Release date: January 26, 2026
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) proudly congratulates the winners and participants in the 18th annual MSG 2 TEENS Driving Safety Contest. The contest engages local teens in traffic safety by challenging them to produce original commercials that promote safe driving. Sponsored by Madison broadcaster Fox47, WisDOT has been a partner in the annual contest since it began in 2008.
“On average, a teen driver is involved in a crash every 28 minutes in Wisconsin,” Wisconsin State Patrol Superintendent Tim Carnahan said. “This unique contest provides an avenue to reach more teen drivers through messages that resonate with them, because they are created by their peers. We are grateful to the participating students for their interest in traffic safety as well as our partners at Fox47 for their support in raising awareness for traffic safety issues.”
High schools from all over southwest Wisconsin participate in the MSG 2 TEENS Driving Safety Contest every year. Teens are encouraged to generate ideas for commercials that promote safe driving for a chance to win cash for their school and prizes from local sponsors. The goal is to create powerful and relevant commercials that impact teen drivers in a positive way and curb dangerous driving habits.
The WisDOT Division of State Patrol has a large role in the partnership, providing crash data to the teens, participating on the panel of judges and presenting the awards to the winners at their school.
The participating teens submitted their ideas, videos and storyboards in September and October. The judges narrowed the entries down to the top five, and the Fox47 production team helped transform them into broadcast quality commercials. The top five commercials were placed online for viewers to vote for their favorite.
The votes have been tallied and the winner of the 2025-26 MSG 2 TEENS Driving Safety Contest is a team of students from Luther Preparatory School in Watertown for their commercial about the dangers of distracted driving. According to preliminary data, there were 1,726 crashes last year in Wisconsin involving a teen driver who was distracted.
Click here to view the winning video and congratulatory message from the Wisconsin State Patrol. The top five commercials are also available on Fox47’s website and will be aired on the network’s television, streaming video and YouTube platforms through May 31, 2026.
For more information, contact:
WisDOT Office of Public Affairs
(608) 266-3581,
opa.exec@dot.wi.gov