For the second year, a local law firm is sponsoring a contest in which high school students can win a $1,500 gift card for producing the best bicycle safety video.

HensonFuerst, which has law offices in Rocky Mount and Raleigh, is challenging teens in Eastern North Carolina to use their imagination and create videos about the importance of bicycle safety.

Two years ago, HensonFuerst represented the husband of a local cyclist who was killed by a motorist while riding her bike. The firm pledged attorney fees from the case to fund bike safety awareness programs and created the video public service announcement contest. The contest asks area teens to create videos about cycling safety and gives them a chance to win a $1,500 gift card or an Apple MacBook laptop with movie-making software.

Also, the winning public service announcement will be aired on local television spots in early April. The winner’s school also will receive a $500 contribution.

Last year’s winner, Clay Allsopp of William G. Enloe High School in Raleigh, took his winnings and created four iPhone apps, one of which has been downloaded more than 100,000 times. His video can be viewed on YouTube.

David Henson, a partner in the firm, said the quality of the videos produced by the students last year was outstanding.

“We had some creative ideas,” he said. “It’s exciting to see young people excited about bike safety and the importance of making sure that motorists are aware of bicyclists and vice versa. I was shocked at quality and content (of the videos). With some, you could not tell whether they were made in Hollywood.”

The public service announcements should be 29 seconds long and address the importance of bicycle safety. Entries must be postmarked no later than April 7, and will be judged on students’ abilities to analyze the topic and produce a quality video.

Henson said the video can focus on a wide range of bike safety issues.

“It may be under the concept of ‘share the road,’ or bicycle and vehicles needing to observe traffic laws and making sure they watch out for one another,” he said. “It may be focusing on helmet safety, or it may be just under the concept of overall bicycling smart safety tips.”

He said lawyers at the firm are avid cyclists and can relate to the perils of bicycling down the highway and the importance of safety.

“We all cycle a lot,” he said. “Unfortunately, we’ve all been run off the road or had near collisions ourselves, so it’s something near and dear to hearts.”

For a complete list of rules and to watch last year’s entries and vote for videos, visit www.LawMed.com/contest.