Three college students now have $5,000 for tuition, thanks to their winning video submissions in the Bridgestone Americas Safety Scholars Contest.
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.
Winning the top prizes were Henry Busby, a 20-year-old from Tuscaloosa, Ala., produced the creative video showing the deadly dangers of bad driving habits like texting and driving; Taylor Deeds, a 19-year-old from Springfield, Mo., whose video shows what can happen when someone thinks he or she is okay to drive, but really isn’t; and Tom Leduc, an 18-year-old from Dearborn, Mich., who illustrated the dangers of speeding.
More than 12,400 votes were cast on safetyscholars.com to determine the winners. The three grand prize winners and all top 10 finalists’ videos can be viewed on the website.
“We were blown away by the creative talent and passion these student video producers showed for the issue of teen driver safety,” said Angela Patterson, Bridgestone’s digital media coordinator. “These videos are so compelling and created by students for students, so we are very excited to share these messages with young drivers and all motorists and ultimately make the roads safer for everyone.”
In addition to receiving a $5,000 college scholarship and a free set of Bridgestone tires, the grand prize winners have the chance to have their video used as a public service announcement 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.
