2024
Lowell Wolf Memorial Scholarship
Walk Safe Long Island’s annual Lowell Wolf Memorial Scholarship asks Long Island and Queens juniors and seniors to use their imaginations to create an original micromobility safety superhero for a chance to win $1,000!
The Challenge: In an essay, choose a safety issue surrounding micromobility devices— like e-bikes and e-scooters— and tell us how the issue affects other road users’ safety. Then introduce us to your original micromobility safety superhero and describe how they would address your chosen safety issue. A description of your superhero’s superpowers and their physical appearance must accompany your application. A hand-drawn or digitally created visual representation of your superhero is optional.
Details and Guidelines
The contest is open to high school juniors and seniors, who are Long Island or Queens residents, and who submit an essay containing the following elements and adhering to the following parameters:
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Applicants must submit an essay of at least 500 words.
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Essay must include the following elements:
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Choice of at least one of the following micromobility safety issues to address:
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Distracted micromobility users
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Lack of knowledge about local and state micromobility laws already in place
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Safety issues surrounding lithium-ion batteries that power most micromobility devices
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Lack of micromobility infrastructure such as dedicated e-bike/e-scooter lanes
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Micromobility users disobeying laws— examples include but are not limited to:
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Micromobility users riding on the sidewalk, or other places where micromobility devices are not allowed to be used
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Micromobility users riding on the wrong side of the road against traffic
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Micromobility users modifying their devices to exceed legal levels of speed
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Micromobility users speeding
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Underage micromobility users
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Micromobility users not wearing helmets (helmets are not always required but are always recommended)
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Any other local law you can uncover and provide a source for
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Explain how the issue you chose affects the safety of other road users and support your explanation with at least one data point or piece of source material. See Applicant Resources for sources below.
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Describe your pedestrian safety superhero. Description must include:
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Superhero’s name
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Superhero’s superpower(s)
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Description of superpower(s) and an explanation with at least one example of how the powers in action would combat the identified issue
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Description of superhero’s visual appearance
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OPTIONAL: Visual representation of superhero, can be digital or hand-drawn; will not be scored
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Submission Details
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Digital submission of essay in Microsoft Word or PDF format
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OPTIONAL hand-drawn superhero images must be scanned and digitally submitted
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OPTIONAL digital superhero images may be submitted as a JPG, PNG, or PDF
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Deadline: Friday, May 31, 2024 at 11:59 pm
A prize of $1,000 per student will be awarded to two winners!
About Lowell Wolf
Lowell Wolf was a Nassau County Transportation Project Manager and professor at Farmingdale State College, SUNY. His interests and concern for pedestrian safety led to a position as an educator with the New York Coalition for Transportation Safety. NYCTS is a grant based nonprofit dedicated to and funded by the New York State Governors Traffic Safety Committee. Lowell’s work involved sharing best practices for transportation safety as well as creating educational programs and events throughout Long Island, with the goal of reducing preventable traffic injury and death. This scholarship is a fitting tribute to Lowell, as it ensures the education of future generations. Road safety audits like these in the scholarship will make more increase awareness and help create changes to dangerous intersections, thus saving lives.
Resources for Applicants
Rules for operating an e-bike or e-scooter are not uniform throughout New York State as cities and towns have extensive local authority, including the ability to prohibit e-bikes or e-scooters, require helmets, or wear reflective clothing. Consult with your local jurisdiction if you have questions on laws and ordinances in your area.
New York State Resources
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Department of Motor Vehicles: Electric scooters and bicycles and other unregistered vehicles
(URL: https://dmv.ny.gov/registration/electric-scooters-and-bicycles-and-other-unregistered-vehicles) -
Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee: E-Bikes and E-Scooters
(URL: https://trafficsafety.ny.gov/micromobility)
NYC & Queens Resources
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New York City-Specific Information About Riding E-Bikes and E-Scooters
(URL: https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bicyclists/ebikes.shtml) -
CHARGE SAFE, RIDE SAFE: NYC’s Electric Micromobility Action Plan
(URL: https://www.nyc.gov/assets/home/downloads/pdf/office-of-the-mayor/2023/micromobility-action-plan.pdf)-
Page 31: IV. Promote the Growth of Safe E-Micromobility and Cycling
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Suffolk County Resources
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Suffolk County Code (URL: https://ecode360.com/15163246#15163246)
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Suffolk County Towns and Villages (URL: https://www.suffolkcountyny.gov/Visiting/Towns-and-Villages)
Nassau County Resources
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Nassau County Laws, Regulations, & Codes and List of Cities, Towns, and Villages
(URL: https://www.nassaucountyny.gov/581/Laws-Regulations-Codes) -
Nassau County Miscellaneous Laws
(URL: https://www.nassaucountyny.gov/DocumentCenter/View/37580/Miscellaneous-Laws-1122?bidId=)-
Page 122: Age Restrictions and Helmet Requirements
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Page 124: §2. Reckless or uncontrolled operation of a bicycle (including motorized bicycles and scooters)
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Page 180: Title 61: Mark Sattler Law Restricting the Use of Motorized Scooters, All-Terrain Vehicles, and Other Off-Road Vehicles and Requiring Truth-In Selling
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Page 124: Title 45-A: A Law to Require the Safe Operation of Bicycles (including motorized bicycles and scooters)
Data Resources
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Institute for Traffic Safety, Management, and Research (ITSMR) Traffic Safety Statistical Repository (TSSR) (URL: https://www.itsmr.org/traffic-safety-statistical-repository/)
INSPIRATION: Other Traffic Safety Superheroes and Mascots
Ampelmann (AKA Ampelmännchen), Berlin’s Pedestrian Signal Icon and Safety Mascot
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Ampelmännchen (URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampelm%C3%A4nnchen)
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Little Traffic Light Man (URL: https://richardzipser.com/little-traffic-light-man/)
Peatónito, Mexico City’s Pedestrian Safety Superhero
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Peatónito the Pedestrian Superhero Is Finishing Up Grad School at UCLA (URL: https://www.curbed.com/2021/05/peatonito-los-angeles-walks-pedestrian-safety.html)
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Unmasked! The Mexico City superhero wrestling for pedestrians' rights (URL: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/nov/09/unmasked-mexico-city-superhero-wrestling-pedestrian-rights)
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The Wrestler’s Pedestrian Uprising (URL: https://medium.com/vision-zero-cities-journal/the-wrestlers-pedestrian-uprising-10b9d3ceaf47)
Barrel Bob, Missouri's “Spokesbarrel” for Work Zone Safety
Signal Woman, Maryland’s Look Alive Pedestrian and Bike Safety Campaign Mascot
Other Pedestrian, Bike, and Traffic Safety Resources
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U.S. Department of Transportation National Roadway Safety Strategy: Safe System Approach (URL: https://www.transportation.gov/NRSS/SafeSystem)
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U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration Proven Safety Countermeasures (URL: https://highways.dot.gov/safety/proven-safety-countermeasures)
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The New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law for Pedestrian Enforcement (URL: https://www.ny.gov/pedestrian-safety/additional-information#faq039s-amp-laws)
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Department of Transportation (DOT) website (URL: https://www.dot.ny.gov/index) and materials on pedestrian education
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Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC) website (URL: https://trafficsafety.ny.gov/)
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The Three Es – Engineering, Enforcement and Education (URL: https://www.ny.gov/programs/pedestrian-safety)
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The See! Be Seen! Campaign (URL: https://trafficsafety.ny.gov/pedestrian-safety)
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Canva (URL: https://www.canva.com/) is a free graphic design platform where you can create a visual representation of your superhero