Our Scholarship

Over 26% of all US car crashes involve phone use and, unfortunately, young drivers make up the majority of this statistic. Our work in this industry means that we feel we have a responsibility to help raise awareness regarding this issue and to try to encourage young drivers to reflect on their potentially dangerous phone habits.

According to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration survey “20% of drivers age 18-20 said texting does not affect their driving, and nearly 30% of drivers ages 21-34 said texting has no impact”.

This startling information proves that despite there being laws in many places as a deterrent, and the information already available, phone use and driving are still taking place every day. Statistics show that “At any moment 9% of drivers are talking on a cell phone”; in light of this, we can see how raising awareness about this issue is paramount.

Our scholarship aims to collate written work from young drivers and we hope this ongoing body of work will serve as an addition to phone use and driving safety awareness. This award will be judged on the applicant’s ability to balance up-to-date and reputable research with their own reflections on their age group’s relationship with their phone and driving and the wider impacts this can have.

Scholarship Amount

$1,000

Eligibility

• All applicants must be enrolled, or due to be enrolled, as a full-time student at an accredited US college or university for the semester that they are applying to receive the scholarship.
• Applicants are not required to have a minimum GPA average of 3.0.
• Applicants must be no older than 25.
• Applicants are not required to have a specific major.
• Applicants must be learning to drive, or have their license.
• Domestic, international, and undocumented students may apply.
• Students attending online universities are welcome to apply.

Essay Details

• Please write an 800-1,000-word essay answering the following questions:
  • What do you think about your generation’s relationship with their phones? Why do you think that many young drivers feel that their phone use when driving is not dangerous?
  • Considering your research on information published in the last 5 years, what are the most surprising findings you’ve made?
  • In conclusion of your research for this essay, and in consideration of what you have written, what actions do you think you will undertake to promote young driver safety awareness?

• Your essay will be judged in consideration of:
  • Ability to balance sourced and cited information with personal reflection
  • Ability to answer all questions in full within word limit
  • Spelling and grammar
  • Personality

Required Application Details

• Please submit proof of enrollment or an acceptance letter in an accredited learning institution. We will accept a recent transcript, acceptance letter, or tuition bill. Please note: if you are in the process of applying for colleges and universities, please indicate your current school and submit a document with the schools you have currently applied to. If you are selected for the scholarship, we will ask you to provide proof of enrollment for your college or university at that time. You can check if your school is accredited here.
• Please submit AutoInsurance.org’s Phone Use and Driving Award form linked below.

How to Apply

Please follow the form link to enter the below information to apply:

AutoInsurance.org’s Phone Use and Driving Award

• Full Name
• Email Address
• College or University Name
• College or University Mailing Address
• Proof of Enrollment – Transcripts, tuition receipt, or acceptance letter will be accepted. Please submit as .jpeg, .pdf, or .doc
• Essay answering above questions.  Please submit as .pdf or .doc
• Confirmation and acceptance of terms and conditions

Application Deadline

All applications must be submitted by September 15, 2019.

Winner Announcement

A winner will be selected and notified via email by September 30, 2019.

Additional Scholarship Details

• The winning candidate will be selected by a panel of judges from AutoInsurance.org.
• The scholarship is available on a yearly basis and is non-renewable.
• Questions about AutoInsurance.org’s Phone Use and Driving Award can be directed to [email protected].
• The scholarship funds provided by AutoInsurance.org will be sent via check to the college or university. Funds are to be applied to qualified college expenses (including tuition, fees, books, and on-campus room and board) for the current academic year.

Privacy Policy

By submitting an application, we are granted permission to send applicants information regarding their application only, via their submitted email address. No applicants will be contacted regarding anything other than their application and we will remove any information pertaining to applicants at their request.

The winner will be asked if they will grant AutoInsurance.org permission to post their name, school, photo (if submitted), and their essay on AutoInsurance.org or in other communications to promote the scholarship. All information (proof of enrollment, essays, and email) relating to applicants is destroyed as soon as a winner is announced, no information pertaining to applicants is kept on file.

Applicants emails will not be used for any marketing purposes. AutoInsurance.org and its representatives will not knowingly sell, share, rent or otherwise transfer your information other than in accordance with the terms set forth in this Privacy Policy.

Applicants are not required to pay any fee for this scholarship and applicants are not required to provide any sensitive information.

Terms & Conditions

All submitted photos and essays must be original work of the applicant. Only one submission may be entered per student, per year. Duplicate entries will be disqualified. All scholarships are non-renewable. By submitting an application to AutoInsurance.org’s Phone Use and Driving Award, you certify that all the information you have provided is original, accurate, and complete.

Features

23.04.2019 /