2010 Safety Scholars Contest

Three college students now have $5,000 for tuition, thanks to their winning video submissions in the Bridgestone Americas Safety Scholars Contest. The company recently announced the winners of the national safe driving competition, now in its fourth year.

The three winning videos beat out more than 1,300 other entries from 16-21 year-olds across the country to become one of the 10 finalists. They then secured the most votes from the public to win the grand prize. More than 12,400 votes were cast on www.safetyscholars.com to determine the winners. The three grand prize winners and all top ten finalists’ videos can be viewed on the website.

In addition to receiving a $5,000 college scholarship and a free set of Bridgestone-brand tires, the grand prize winners have the chance to have their video used as a public service announcement (PSA) on television stations across the country. These PSAs are supported by Bridgestone Americas 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 2009 Safety Scholars PSAs have aired more than 17,000 times on TV and cable stations across the United States, reaching an audience of more than 66 million viewers.

About the winners:

Henry Busby, a 20-year-old from Tuscaloosa, Ala., produced the creative video “Tales from The Junkyard”, which shows the deadly dangers of excuses drivers make for bad driving habits like texting and driving.  His video closes with this reminder: “Every day, there are hundreds of stories that are cut short.  Buckle up.  Drive safe.”  Busby is an incoming junior at the University of Alabama.

Taylor Deeds, a 19-year-old from Springfield, Mo., and rising sophomore at the University of Missouri, chose to convey the dangers of drinking and driving in her video “I’m a Killer”, which shows what can happen when someone thinks he or she is okay to drive, but really isn’t.  The video ends with three young people looking at the camera and saying, “I’m a killer,” because they caused a wreck that took a life.

Tom Leduc, an 18-year-old from Dearborn, Mich., is a freshman at Columbia College in Chicago.  His startling video, “Avoidable Accidents”  shows the dangers of speeding.  A little boy’s life is cut short because of someone driving too fast.  It closes with this reminder: “Some accidents are completely unavoidable.  This was not one of those accidents.”

After seeing the creativity and quality of Zach King’s submission, the judges decided to name his video titled “Wooten Camp 101” as this year’s critic’s choice winner. King’s hilarious look at a distracted driving boot camp simultaneously entertains while conveying an important message.