Videos to Target Peers
about Auto and Tire Safety
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (July 2, 2007) - 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
lifesaving 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, offroad, motorcycle,
agricultural and other tires to its
customers in North America.
