For Immediate Release
Thursday, June 4, 2026
CT DMV AND TRAVELERS ANNOUNCE THE WINNERS OF THE
ANNUAL TEEN SAFE DRIVING VIDEO CONTEST
WETHERSFIELD, CT – The Department of Motor Vehicles and Travelers announced the winning high schools in their jointly sponsored 17th annual Teen Safe Driving Video Contest. The contest, which saw a 28 percent increase in submissions from last year, puts Connecticut teens in the spotlight to create compelling safe driving messages to their peers.
- First place goes to a student team at Norwich Free Academy.
- Runner up goes to student teams at Daniel Hand High School in Madison and Platt Technical High School in Milford.
- Additional award-winning videos and student teams were: Hall High School (West Hartford), Haddam-Killingworth High School and two separate winners from Middletown High School.
- Wilton High School was awarded for the most submissions.
“Engaging teens in initiatives like this is important because younger drivers are statistically more inclined to be involved in crashes, some of which could be fatal,” Governor Ned Lamont said. “I want to congratulate all of the students who participated and helped spread this important message.”
The video contest encourages teens and high schools statewide to think about decisions that could cause a crash. More than 400 students from 25 high schools participated and submitted 160 videos.
Contest coordinators, along with DMV Commissioner Tony Guerrera, recently attended in-school ceremonies to honor the winning teams and to showcase the videos to over a thousand students across the state – further promoting the peer-to-peer element of the contest.
Commissioner Guerrera was House chair of the Connecticut General Assembly’s Transportation Committee in 2008. He helped lead the effort to change state laws to increase safety for teen drivers – including no friends in the vehicle for the first year a teen is licensed and a nighttime driving curfew of 11 p.m.
“We want teens to be involved in helping us get the word out about the importance of safe driving,” Commissioner Guerrera said. “Teens talking to other teens through these creative videos is the essence of this contest and we congratulate all 160 student teams who created a video for helping to prevent crashes. Thank you to Travelers for co-sponsoring the contest and being a loyal partner in this endeavor.”
Travelers awarded the winning students and their high schools over $25,000 in cash and other prizes. Wilton High School earned $6,000 for entering the most submissions, while Norwich Free Academy received $5,000 for the best-overall award and its two student winners split $1,250.
"We commend this year's winning students for their innovative work raising awareness about the importance of safe driving," said Michael Klein, Executive Vice President and President, Personal Insurance at Travelers. "The CT DMV Safe Driving Video Contest empowers participants to influence their peers' choices on the road, and we are proud to support that mission toward safer streets for everyone in Connecticut."
These videos will be used to raise teens’ safety awareness through peer-to-peer conversation. For instance, the videos will be featured in advertising by the state Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Governor’s Highway Safety Office. DOT is a leader in the state in preventative measures to stop distracted driving.
View the best-overall and runner-up videos:
Best overall
School: Norwich Free Academy
Students: Ricardo Amado Gomes and Oliver Glenn
Watch here
Runner up
School: Daniel Hand High School (Madison)
Students: Reese Horn, Lara Khacherian and Sofia Kita
Watch here
Runner up
School: Platt Technical High School (Milford)
Student: Dean Clarke
Watch here
To watch all the 2026 award-winning videos, visit the CT DMV’s YouTube channel.
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