NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 24, 2006) - Sharing their unfiltered opinions can sometimes get teens in trouble, but now it can help them pay for college. Starting this week, teens from around the country can log on to www.SafetyScholars.com and submit essays on various driver safety issues for an opportunity to earn $2,500 college scholarships, new laptops, sets of Bridgestone Firestone tires and $500 gas cards.

The Web site, www.SafetyScholars.com, is the newest component of the company’s ongoing commitment to safety education. Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC (BFNT) and legendary racer Mario Andretti officially launched the program and Web site recently at a news conference in Austin, Texas, in conjunction with the start of National Tire Safety Week (for more information on National Tire Safety Week visit: www.betiresmart.org). Firestone has worked with Andretti to develop a comprehensive program to educate young drivers on tire and driver safety. Now the company is looking to teens for their insights and ideas to help shape the curriculum and find creative ways to get the message to new drivers.

Teens notice that their peers get increasingly risky behind the wheel as they get older and gain more driving experience, according to a BFNT-sponsored online survey of teen drivers. More than half (54 percent) of 19-year-olds surveyed felt that teens are generally not safe drivers, compared with 35 percent of 16-year-olds who felt the same way. BFNT and Andretti are asking teens to use the same insights into their peers’ habits to find the best way to teach teens about the importance of tire and driver safety.

“Car accidents are the leading killer of teens in this country,” said Andretti. “Teens are just learning to drive and face many distractions, so they’re at a very high risk for accidents. We want to help teens learn good, safe habits from the very beginning. Our hope is our Safety Scholars program will help us find the best way to get all teens to hear this important message,” Andretti concluded.

SafetyScholars.com makes a wealth of safety information available to young drivers with just a click of a mouse. Visitors to the site can download a copy of a safety booklet that encourages new drivers to learn their “M.A.R.I.O.S.” (Mario Andretti’s Real Information On Safety). In his travels across the United States for BFNT, Andretti frequently speaks to students about the safety tips and good habits covered in the M.A.R.I.O.S. booklets, such as alert and defensive driving, tire safety and seat belt use. The site also includes information from Firestone Complete Auto Care’s award-winning Car Care Academies, BFNT’s TireSafety.com Web site and on the innovative BFNT-sponsored teen driver training program, Driver’s Edge.

“Tires are the only things connecting your vehicle to the road, so, as a tire company, Bridgestone Firestone strives to educate drivers on how essential tire safety is,” said John Gamauf, president of consumer tire replacement sales, BFNT. “Beyond that, we are parents and grandparents and community members who are deeply committed to keeping all drivers safe on the roads at all times. We’re excited to be adding SafetyScholars.com to the array of driver safety and education programs and initiatives that our family of companies developed or sponsors, from Buckle Up Baby to Car Care Academies to Driver’s Edge.”

To participate in the Safety Scholars program, students aged 16 to 21 must compose an essay, 500 words or less, on automobile safety-related topics they feel are important to their peers, such as seat belt use, drinking and driving or tire safety. The submission should discuss effective ways to improve driver safety and should also include ideas on the best and most effective way to communicate to and educate young drivers about the safety messages discussed in the essay. Essays will be accepted through July 31, 2006, with finalists being named in the fall of 2006. Complete contest rules are available at www.SafetyScholars.com.

The top 10 finalists, selected by a panel of judges affiliated with BFNT’s driver safety initiatives, will each receive a $500 gas card and a set of Bridgestone- or Firestone-brand tires. Each of the top three finalists will also receive a $2,500 scholarship and a laptop computer.

So log on and tell your story. Not only can your ideas help win prizes—they can also help save a life.

The data cited in this release is based on the findings of an online survey among 800 teen drivers nationwide, conducted on behalf of Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC (BFNT) by Charlton Research Company. Eligible participants were 16 to 19 years old with a valid driver’s license or learner’s permit. The survey was conducted July 22-28, 2005. The questionnaire contained 28 questions and was approximately eight minutes in length. The margin of error for the sample size of 800n is +/-3.5 percent.