"One second could change your life" was the motto of !B 11-year-old Jonathan Merrill on his winning billboard-sized poster now at the intersection of Liberty and Ridge roads in Taylorsville.
Jonathan, a student at Freedom Elementary, beat out more than other fifth-graders in the county's 15 elementary schools, according to Westminster Police Department Cpl. Michael Bible, billboard project coordinator of the safety belt poster contest.
Jonathan won a large trophy from the Westminster Police Department and C.R.A.S.H. (Carroll Resources to Advance Safer Highways Coalition), which jointly sponsored the contest. The winner in each school also received an award, the officer said.
"I entered the contest because I'm a good drawer, and I thought I might win," Jonathan said.
The idea for the poster came to Jonathan with what he called "a little" help from his 12-year-old brother, David, and mother, Dawn.
Jonathan's poster depicts two scenes, one just before an accident and the second after a car strikes a tree. It carries the wording, "One second could change your life. Use it wisely, buckle your seat belt! Safety is only a click away, buckle up.
Jonathan lives in the Eldersburg area.