Request for Proposals, KY Safe Teen Driving Challenge

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's Office of Highway Safety is seeking financial sponsors for the Kentucky Safe Teen Driving Challenge, a technology-driven teen driver safety initiative. This Request for Proposals (RFP) targets organizations interested in sponsoring a mobile app-based competition for teen drivers ages 15-19, with the goal of improving driving behaviors and reducing accidents. Sponsors can contribute at four levels: $500, $1,000, $2,500, or $5,000, which will fund student and high school prizes for the competition. The challenge will track driving behaviors including speeding, phone distraction, hard braking, sharp turning, and rapid acceleration through a mobile application. Proposals are due by August 1st, 2025 at 2:00 PM EST, with sponsors to be selected through a pass/fail evaluation process. The competition builds on a previous successful challenge in Spring 2025 that engaged over 1,200 teen drivers, with approximately 800 active participants demonstrating improved driving behaviors. The initiative addresses a critical safety concern, as Kentucky experienced over 47,000 teen driver crashes in the past three years, resulting in more than 13,000 injuries and 210 deaths.

The RFP does not explicitly indicate specific set-aside designations or restrictions on responding organizations. Sponsorship benefits include logo placement on the contest landing page, recognition on Highway Safety social media accounts, mention in press releases, and participation in a statewide youth safety initiative. While no incumbent vendors are mentioned, the document suggests this is part of an ongoing program with an inaugural challenge already completed. Potential sponsors will have the opportunity to directly contribute to incentivizing and rewarding safe driving habits among young Kentucky drivers. The sponsorship levels range from $500 to $5,000, providing flexibility for organizations of different sizes and capacities to participate. The total budget for the challenge is not explicitly stated, but the multiple sponsorship tiers suggest an open and scalable funding approach. Interested organizations will need to submit their proposals through the Kentucky Vendor Self Service (VSS) system, following the detailed submission guidelines provided in the accompanying documentation.