Connecticut State DMV Center for Teen Safe Driving

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September 17, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DMV-Travelers Announce 8th Annual Teen Safe Driving
Video Contest to Promote Safety on the Road
WETHERSFIELD - The Department of Motor Vehicles today announced it will be sponsoring with Travelers the 8th annual Teen Safe Driving Video contest for high school students around the state.  The theme this year is: “When Shifting into Drive, Keep the Safety of Others in Mind!”

Five student advisors created this theme with the idea that teens should practice selfless driving, and be conscious of drivers as well as the environment around them. Teens must realize that they should be aware of their surroundings when driving, and that they should take others into consideration when making crucial driving decisions, the advisors commented when deciding on the theme.
“We think this is an important theme for students to embrace because it involves the safety of everyone on the road. Keeping our roads safe is critical for all drivers regardless of age,” said DMV Commissioner Andres Ayala, Jr.
“Travelers is committed to making Connecticut a safer place to drive,” said Henry Edinger, Chief Customer Officer at Travelers. “We are proud to support the 2015-16 Safe Driving Video contest, which encourages high school students to creatively illustrate the safe driving message."
The contest is open to all public, private and home-schooled high school students in Connecticut.
Since the contest began, nearly 3,000 students across the state have participated representing more than 100 high schools. More information about the contest can be found at https://ct.gov/teendriving/contest
Summary of requirements:
  • The public service video commercial can only be 25 seconds long.
  • It must demonstrate the theme: When Shifting into Drive, Keep the Safety of Others in Mind!
  • It must also address two specific teen driving laws.
  • The PSA must have a multicultural or diversity component because driving involves teens from all backgrounds, including race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, disability, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, culture, etc.  Bi-lingual/multi-cultural videos are welcomed and encouraged.
  • Teams of students are limited to a maximum of 5 members, including the student director.
  • The PSA must feature at least two teens, along with any other teens or adults considered necessary for the creative safety message. ? 
The complete set of rules can be found at https://ct.gov/teendriving/contest.  Submissions are due or must be postmarked no later than January 12, 2016.
Travelers will award $15,000 in cash prizes to the high schools with the top 5 winning videos, along with tablets to the first-place winning team and other gifts to winners.  Travelers will also award a cash prize of $1000, as part of their Travelers Challenge Award, to the school of the students’ whose video is most viewed on YouTube.
A cash prize of $1,000 will go to the school with the video showing the best multicultural message and has been underwritten by Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital. AT&T Connecticut also provides some awards for the contest.

A panel of judges comprised of safety advocates, health experts and state officials will select the winners. Past contest winners can be found on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/teensafedriving12
Student advisors who worked on the project are Sophia Pelletier, Hannah Chua-Reyes, and Alexandra Porsczak from Mercy High School, as well as Abhishek Gupta from Xavier High School and Kayla Graham from Ethel Walker. These students volunteered their time, to create the theme and to discuss the use of social media to promote the contest.

Other promotional contest partners include the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association; AAA, the Connecticut State Police; Mourning Parents Act (!MPACT), the Connecticut Children's Medical Center; Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital; Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center; The Connecticut Emergency Nurses Association, the state Department of Public Health; The state Department of Insurance, the state Department of Transportation; and the state Division of Criminal Justice.