Every parent knows the hard truth; teens often listen to their peers
more than they listen to parents or teachers. And there’s another hard
reality: car crashes claim the lives of more 16 – 21 year-olds than any
other cause. With that in mind, Bridgestone Firestone North American
Tire, LLC is turning to teens for solutions to help make our roads
safer for everyone by launching the Safety Scholars Video Contest. The
contest will award three $5,000 college scholarships for the most
compelling and effective teen-created videos that drive home
life-saving messages on auto and tire safety.
“Supporting
safety education is an important priority for our team at Bridgestone
Firestone and we hope the videos created by young drivers will cut
through the clutter and really resonate with teens on their own level,”
said Christine Karbowiak, Vice President of Public Affairs, Bridgestone
Americas Holding, Inc. “Ultimately we’ll post the winning videos on
our tiresafety.com website and other sites. We want to make this
content easily accessible to teens. Awareness of safety can lead to a
change in behavior which can reduce crashes and save lives,” Karbowiak
continued.
The Contest:
The top 10 videos will appear on SafetyScholars.com and YouTube.com
with viewers selecting the winners through online voting. Three grand
prize winners will receive a $5,000 college scholarship with the top 10
Safety Scholars receiving a new set of Bridgestone or Firestone tires
(a retail value of up to $1,000 per set of tires).
The Rules:
• Safety videos must be 1 – 3 minutes in length.
• The first 200 video entries will be accepted July 2 – 27 at SafetyScholars.com.
•
A panel of expert judges will choose the top 10 videos based on the
following criteria: how well the video compels viewers to be more
safety-conscious, including topics such as seat belt usage, tire safety
and avoiding in-vehicle distractions, and how well the video
effectively and creatively communicates its message.
The Results:
On
Aug. 6, the top 10 videos will appear on YouTube.com and
SafetyScholars.com. Online viewers will then cast their votes on
SafetyScholars.com for their favorite Safety Scholars video during the
next three weeks, until August 24. Grand prize-winning videos will be
announced on Aug. 27 at SafetyScholars.com. The winning videos will be
posted on tiresafety.com and safetyscholars.com and other websites to
make them easily accessible to young drivers across the country.
Bridgestone Firestone has invested in a myriad of
innovative driving and tire safety education initiatives specifically
targeted at young drivers. The Bridgestone brand serves as presenting
national sponsor for Driver’ Edge, a hands-on safe driving course
that’s offered free of charge to teens in selected cities across the
U.S. The company has also aired a series of tire safety public service
announcements featuring Mario Andretti, legendary racer and Firestone
spokesman. Andretti, who has also toured the country talking to
students about auto and tire safety urging students to learn their
M.A.R.I.O’s (Mario Andretti’s Real Information on Safety), and the
company have distributed more than 30,000 M.A.R.I.O’s safety booklets
to teens across the country. In 2006, the company created a very
successful Safety Scholars essay contest which generated the idea for
this year’s video contest and other safety education ideas the company
is implementing. More than 22,000 students entered the contest which
awarded $2,500 college scholarships to the three grand prize winners.
The Safety Scholars Video Contest is offered by Bridgestone Firestone
North American Tire, LLC to promote driver safety and education among
America’s youth. Participants must be 16 – 21-year old, and a legal
resident of the 50 U.S. states and District of Columbia. Contestants
must also posses a valid driver’s license and be currently enrolled as
a full-time student at an accredited secondary, college level or trade
school. Official Rules with complete entry, eligibility and prize
details will be available on SafetyScholars.com and YouTube.com.
About Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC:
Nashville-based Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC (BFNT)
is a subsidiary of Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc., whose parent
company, Bridgestone Corporation, is the world’s largest tire and
rubber company. BFNT develops, manufactures and markets Bridgestone,
Firestone and associate brand tires. The company is focused on
wholesale and original equipment markets, supplying passenger, light
truck, commercial vehicle, off-road, motorcycle, agricultural and other
tires to its customers in North America.
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