Avery Estes is used to putting her now famous slogan to use. Although, with her parents, she often feels the need to add an extra hint of politeness.

“I tell them to shut off and drive — pleeease,” said Estes, 10, of Maple Valley.

The Glacier Park Elementary School student used her art prowess and a simple message to win the Operation S.A.F.E. Student drawing contest, with her multi-colored pronouncement to “Shut off and Drive” prominently displayed on a billboard located on state Route 169 near Cedar Groove Road.

The Washington State Patrol, Maple Valley Police Department and Tahoma School District, in conjunction with Operation S.A.F.E. Student, sponsored a contest in May that challenged third and fourth graders from the school district to create a piece of art with a theme related to bus safety and distracted driving.

Art docents from each of the four elementary schools picked among the roughly 100 student submittals. The decision required tie-breaking input from the Maple Valley city manager and City Council.

Besides the mammoth billboard display, Estes won a touchscreen laptop. Multiple King County officers also joined to honor her in front of the billboard on Sept. 18, presenting her with the framed drawing. Renting the billboard cost about $2,000 and was split among sponsors and the Washington State Patrol. The picture will remain up for at least 30 days.

In the mind of Lt. Ken Noland, with the Washington State Patrol, the most important message came from discussing the contest and the danger of distracted driving in May to an eager assembly of students, who are being counted on to self-police their sometimes irresponsible parents.

“That’s 1,200 kids that heard the message,” Noland said.

A 2013 survey by AT&T found that more adults admitted to texting while driving than teenagers. It’s an issue that hits plenty close to home. Operation S.A.F.E. Student describes itself as a “proactive and educational approach to keep students safe when exiting and entering school buses.”

S.A.F.E. emphasized stop paddle violations on busses. Police issued 24 violations for speeding, following to close, cell phone, texting, seat belt and stop paddle from Sept. 2-5.

“We weren’t always the best,” said Mike Estes, Avery’s father, in reference to the texting and driving law. “Now we just don’t even do it because we have the police sitting in the backseat.”

Distracted driving kills more than nine people and injures upwards of 1,060 people in the US each day, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And that’s only what gets reported. Handheld cell phone use and texting is prohibited for all Washington drivers, but texting while driving can be a difficult infraction for officers to enforce and prove in the courts.

Noland said officers have trouble seeing into cars to know exactly what a driver is doing, but there are some telltale signs: large spaces between the car in front, swerving and a general lack of alertness to what is happening on the road.

“It almost looks like a drunk driver out there,” Noland said.

Avery’s billboard is located on the same block as a more standard “Don’t Drink and Drive” sign that can easily mistaken for any other street sign. Former Maple Valley Police Chief Michelle Bennett said she hopes this more novel approach gains some attention.“The best ideas are going to come from someone other than us,” she said.

Avery, now in fifth grade, agrees, saying she thinks her first ever art contest win will inspire drivers to turn off their phones “since it’s a little kid that made” the illustration.When asked whether she’d prefer to be an officer or artist when she grows up, Avery didn’t need to think about the question long.

“Probably an artist,” she said. “I’m too nice to be a cop.”