Lewis Hamilton has made the most of his Summer break by helping the MSA judge its Road Safety Film Competition aimed at teenagers.
Joined by Sky Sports F1’s Johnny Herbert and Natalie Pinkham, the competition had the single rule of highlighting one of the ten golden rules of road safety. The prize for the winners is their film being aired on Sky and an all expenses paid trip to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix.
In the end there were two winners, one each in the 14-18 and 19-24 category. In the younger category it was Hurtwood House that took the victory with their film looking at the use of crash helmets called ‘Melons’. The three judges praised the film for its light hearted nature whilst still being thought provoking.
In the 19-24 category it was Mid Kent College that won the prize, which includes £2000 in funding for their college, for a film that was praised highest of all about respecting the highway code.
Lewis Hamilton said: “This campaign means a lot to me. I remember when I was younger seeing accidents as a result of bad behaviour on the road and it made me aware of how it easy it was to screw up your life by taking stupid risks. I was always the designated driver as I was never drinking.
“I’d like to help raise awareness amongst young drivers. I want people to think about the importance of wearing a seat belt and being aware of what’s around them when they’re driving. The amount of deaths and serious accidents on our roads is shocking and anything we can do to tackle this has got to be a good thing.
“As a racing driver we have to drive as fast as possible but it’s always in a controlled environment with an emphasis on maximum safety.”
The event itself was launched by the MSA as a way of making the FIA’s Action for Road Safety have more of an impact on the country’s young people by getting them actively involved in spreading the message of how to stay safe on the roads. At present road accidents are still the biggest killers of 16-24 year olds in the UK.
