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Keep Texas Beautiful To Educate Drivers on Litter Prevention

19 September 2000

Texas Automobile Dealers Association Partners With Keep Texas Beautiful To Educate Drivers on Litter Prevention

    AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 18 To help educate the driving public
on the importance of litter prevention, Texas Automobile Dealers Association
(TADA) members will help promote the popular slogans "Don't Mess with
Texas/Keep Texas Beautiful" in a special campaign.
    Research by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) reveals that
the factors that most accurately forecast littering behavior are (in order):
age, smoking, eating fast food, driving more than 50 miles a day, going out to
bars or parties and being single.  Thirty-eight percent of Texans surveyed by
TxDOT admitted to littering in the last three years. The survey also showed
that Texans under the age of 24 are more likely to be habitual litterers.
    "TADA can help educate this group -- a large portion of our customer base
-- by promoting the purchase of the 'Don't Mess with Texas/Keep Texas
Beautiful' license plate.  If we help sell the plates, we could see hundreds
of mini-billboards traveling Texas highways promoting the slogans," said Gene
Fondren, president of TADA.
    The campaign will bring together local automobile dealerships and local
Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB) affiliates to encourage the purchase of the license
plates.  A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the $25 plates directly
benefits KTB.
    "TADA's members are individuals who have a history of giving back to their
communities," said Fondren. "The partnership with Keep Texas Beautiful is
another way our members can work with volunteer organizations in their
community."