Texas A&M junior a finalist in Bridgestone Americas Teens Drive Smart video contest

July 31--Veronika Hill said she was hesitant at first about entering the Bridgestone Americas Teens Drive Smart video contest. In fact, a simple coin flip made the final decision for her to enter and eventually become a finalist.

Hill, a junior psychology major at Texas A&M, was named one of 10 finalists by a panel of judges working for Bridgestone on July 17. The contest attracted students across the country, ages 16 to 21, who made short videos addressing safe driving habits. The winner of the contest will be determined based on online voting by the public.

First prize will be a $20,000 scholarship, while the second and third place winners will receive $10,000 and $5,000 scholarships. The best video will also have the chance to be shown on television across the country as a public service announcement.

"I would be incredibly overwhelmed if I won," Hill said. "I can't even believe I made the top 10. I worked really hard and just the fact that I got this far is amazing."

She first heard about the Bridgestone contest while searching for scholarships online at ktex.com. Hill said she was looking at what scholarships she could qualify for and how much money each was worth when she discovered the video contest for $20,000.

Hill's video, titled "How to get in a Car Accident," shows her in a car with a friend, and her friend's reactions when she attempts to perform random tasks while driving. Hill covered distracting tasks such as putting on makeup in the car and texting while driving.

"It's dangerous to get distracted while you are driving," Hill said. "I addressed some things in the video where becoming distracted is very common and I portrayed what is readily available to distract you."

The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) released a study in April in which it gave questionnaires to people in a driver's license office. Of the participants, 76 percent said they had been distracted by talking on a cellphone while driving at least once in the past month. Forty-four percent of the participants admitted to reading or writing a text message while behind the wheel.

The inspiration for Hill's video dates back to her days as a high school student in San Antonio. She said she had a friend who was in three accidents within a six-month period and was dropped from her insurance.

"As soon as I saw what the contest was about I thought of her immediately," Hill said. "I thought, 'Yeah, this is my inspiration.'"

Hill said she hopes people understand how dangerous being distracted while driving can be after watching her video and that it will save people from experiencing what her friend went through in high school.

The feedback from her video has been overwhelming, Hill said. Her sister in South Carolina told her she has gotten a hospital full of nurses to vote for her because they loved her video and wanted to help her win. Hill said she hopes the feedback from Texas A&M students will be just as positive.

"I just really want to put another tally under the win column for Texas A&M, and just make A&M proud," Hill said.

Voting takes place for the contest through today. People can vote by going to www.teensdrivesmart.com, and clicking on the "vote now" link on the side.

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