Tag: teenagers

TeensDriveSmart.com Road Show Rally Contest

Have you been trying to raise awareness at your school about safe driving habits?  Well then you might be interested in TeensDriveSmart.com Road Show Rally Contest.  What is the Road Show Rally?  The Rally is Teen's Drive Smart spin on a driving safety event.  It will include a road safety quiz game for the whole school, special guests, tire checks, and a $5000 grant for your school.

To enter you must create a video between 30 seconds – 2 minutes.  The videos do not need to be flashy, cinematic masterpieces but should show why your school deserves or is need of a driving safety event.  Maybe talk about some project your school has been working on to improve awareness or something you have been trying to get together yourself.  If your school has been unable to find a viable way to host an event themselves, explain why.  Express the desire and interest you or your school has for hosting the event.

Any students between the ages of 16-21 that attend a high school, college, university, community college, or trade school are eligible to enter.  Multiple entries from students from the same school are allowed!  Videos will be judged on a basis of three factors: creativity, poignancy, and need.  Once videos are uploaded they will be posted on Teens Drive Smart website, Facebook page, and YouTube channel.

Even if you don't win the Grand Prize Road Show Rally and $5,000 grant for your school, two runners up will receive $2,500.  So a total of $10,000 is up for grabs!  The money is for promoting and educating students on safe driving habits at those students respective schools.

The contest ends on October 7th, 2011 and the Winners will be announced on October 11th.  Get out those video cameras and make a video!

Driving Skills for Life, Working to Save Young Lives

What's the number one killer of teenagers?  You might be surprised to hear it's not drugs, guns, or alcohol.  It's vehicle fatalities.  One car manufacturer that is making an effort to combat this problem is Ford with it's Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) program.  With DSFL, Ford aims to educate new drivers about safe driving principles.  “We want to get the numbers down” says Jim Graham, Manager of DSFL.

DSFL events, which are held around the country, have overwhelming demand.  The events put teenagers behind the wheel with a professional race car driver to learn emergency maneuvers and how to handle dangerous road conditions and situations.  The hands-on instruction teaches the four key principles of DSFL: hazard recognition, speed management, space management, and vehicle handling.  You would think that teenagers would be excited at the opportunity to get into a car with a race car driver.  To some people, like a particular writer, it would be awesome to do this.  “At first they don't want to go.”  says Graham but, “Once they get into the car they want to do it again. We use young teachers that are considered cool and that the kids respond well too.”  Not only do teenagers love DSFL but parents have positive experiences as well.  “Parents get in the cars with teens.  For the most part they have not had professional driving safety training either.  They learn a lot as well.  Parents love the program.”

The program has saved lives in Illinois.  Outside Peoria 15 teenagers died in 1 year period.  DSFL went in to help address this issue.  They worked with the state and community and thus far there have been no new fatalities in the county.  They are now operating in the whole state and now there is a 50% reduction of teenage vehicle fatalities in the state of Illinois.  Great work!

DSFL also has help from celebrities to get the word out.  Kate Voegele, a musician and singer, talks with teenagers about safe driving habits through DSFL programs.  Colin Braun, a NASCAR driver, and Toby Keith, a country musician, have also contributed.  Braun spreads the message at tracks and through his social media network.  Keith made a Public Service Announcement (PSA) “No text message is worth your life” for DSFL.  The newest celebrity addition to the DSFL arsenal is Courtney Force, drag racing champion, and daughter of legendary drag racer John Force.  Courtney will be speaking with teenagers about safe driving habits around the country.

Ford not only aims to have DSFL events to teach teenagers and parents about driving, but to bring updated information right to you with their website.  “Learning to drive successfully is a life long learning experience.”  says Graham.  This is reflected in the vast content on the website which includes a safe driving simulator, educational materials, tips, videos, etc.  There are even downloadable school programs for teachers.  It's an all around resource for updated information regarding safe driving and how to develop better habits.

Driving Skills for Life is fully funded by Ford Motor Company.  The company even developed the program and will continue with it for a long time to come, as the number of newly licensed drivers grows every year.  In short, DSFL is a great service to the community that is saving lives.

Bridgestone Launches New Website for Teen Drivers

Bridgestone has a new website for teen drivers, Teensdrivesmart.com. The focus is to educate by providing a comprehensive resource for young drivers. Resources are provided in the form of useful information, fun video games, informative videos, and a blog. However the site is not just for teenagers as there are great resources for parents and teachers as well.

Sometimes it can be hard for parents to think of the right things to say to the newly minted drivers in the family. The website helps with tips and advice. They have driving contracts for parents and teens. Fill these out and discuss the rules and limits when using the family vehicles. This is something a certain writer would definitely approve of… of course not when he was learning to drive.

The site has another great feature – teaching tools. Most schools don't offer driver ed's. But teachers and students do still talk about driving, and the site offers driving-focused lesson plans that teachers can use in high school and even middle school. The lessons can be easily integrated into instruction for many different subjects. If you are a teacher, check it out. Consider how to teach your students safe driving habits. Talking about driving should be a priority. This can save lives.

“With the website we provide all the information to make smart decisions. There are more distractions than ever,” says Angela Patterson Sikes, who manages teen driver safety initiatives for Bridgestone. Texting; cell phones; music: other teens – are all potential co-pilots with teen drivers, and all can be lethal. Sikes, who also writes for the site's “Driver's Seat Blog,” says the site offers tips on how teens (and adults) can handle those distractions.

“Teenagers are new drivers which is a great opportunity to learn good habits.” says Sikes. “We think safety is everyone's responsibility. We try to involve parents and teachers to get out the message.”

The blog, which encourages reader comments and an open forum, gives out this information in a conversational manner. Four young women are the primary contributors who connect to teens on their level, without talking down to them. “We want to put a face on the lessons we are trying to teach,” Sikes says.

The website is gaining traction. Miss America 2011, Teresa Scanlan, recently contributed with video messages chatting about the site.

If you sign-up to receive the newsletter you could win a $100 gas card. Check back for more information, contests, and great advice on teen driving.

Safety Scholars announces Winners!

Amber Cullen, 2011 Safety Scholars Grand Prize Winner

Three lucky people have won scholarships in Bridgestone's Safety Scholars video contest. Amber Cullen of Akron, Ohio, won the $10,000 grand prize for her video, “The Phone Bandit.” Two other people were also fortunate enough to win 5,000 scholarships, Robert Mai of Newport Beach, CA won second place and Everett, WA native Matthew Robertson won third place.

The three winners were chosen out of 1,466 entries from 16-21 year-olds across the United States and Canada (excluding Quebec) to become one of the 10 finalists. The top three finalist's won the most votes out of nearly 10,000 votes that were cast on Safety Scholars website to determine the winners. The other 7 finalist's are not empty-handed though. For their efforts they will be receiving a free set of Bridgestone brand tires, including the top three.

“Each year it's amazing to see how the quality of videos has progressed. This year we were especially pleased with what we got. They were really great messages that really resonated with teenagers,” said Angela Patterson Sikes, digital media coordinator, Community and Corporate Relations, Bridgestone Americas, who also manages the company's teen driver safety initiatives.

The three winners have the chance to have their video broadcast as a public service announcement (PSA) on TV stations across the US. Bridgestone supports these in cooperation with Driver's Edge, an independent, non-profit hands-on safe driving course that's offered free of charge to teens in select U.S. cities. The 2010 Safety Scholars PSAs have aired more than 27,000 times on TV and cable stations across the US. The 2011 PSA's will be aired on many more regional and national networks. Making this year's winners especially fortunate. The PSA's from this year's contest will be in distribution by Thanksgiving.

Congratulations to all the winners and the effort by all the participants.  I look forward to seeing just as amazing and creative videos next year.

To view the winning videos visit: http://www.safetyscholars.com/

Safety Scholars Video Contest, Win Money for College

If you like making movies and need some cash for college, you are in luck.  Bridgestone is running their annual Safety Scholars Video Contest.  Essentially you make a short movie about motoring safety and upload i, then you might win a $10,000 college scholarship!

You might be curious, why would Bridestone have this contest?  Angela Patterson Sikes who coordinates digital media and teen driver safety initiatives for Bridgestone, “Bridgestone started the contest in 2006 as part of its teen driver safety initiatives.  Safety Scholars originally began as an essay contest, but in 2007, Bridgestone decided to turn it into a video contest because they thought video would be the most effective form for teens to communicate that message and might reach more people that way.  Sadly, car crashes kill more 16 to 21 year olds than any other cause, so Bridgestone hopes this is a strong, creative way for teens and young adults to consider what they do behind the wheel.”

If you want to submit a video to be judged the deadline is June 24th, 2011.  Videos must be either 25 or 55 seconds long.  Not between 25 and 55 seconds, but one of the two.  The contest is open to 15-21 year olds, within the US and Canada.  The videos must be well thought out and executed.  Angela Patterson Sikes, “Bridgestone chooses the finalists based on the following criteria: how well the video compels viewers to be more safety-conscious when using their vehicles and how well the video effectively and creatively communicates its message.”  Last year there were 1,373 entries, and this year's number will hopefully top that.  Each year the videos get better and better.  There should be no exception for this year.

Even if you are not quite lucky enough to win the Grand Prize, the second and third place finalists will receive a $5,000 scholarship.  The top ten videos will get a Free set of Bridgestone or Firestone tires.  So get working on a video to submit.  Remember, it's not just about getting money for school but helping create safer drivers on our roads.

For more info or to upload a video visit: http://www.safetyscholars.com/