A simple pledge to always wear a seat belt while driving has landed Hiba, an 18-year-old from Essex, with a new Vauxhall Corsa.
The car was presented to Hiba as part of the #MySmallChange campaign, organised by the Safer Essex Roads Partnership (SERP).
The campaign calls on young drivers to pledge to improve a particular aspect of their driving, such as sticking to speed limits and switching their phone to silent while driving.
Passengers can also participate by making their own pledge never to get into a car driven by someone they know to have been drinking.
These pledges are then shared on social media, which in turn raises awareness and encourages their peers to come up with their own pledge.
As an incentive for making a pledge and making positive steps to become a safer driver, each participant who meets the competition criteria is entered into a draw to win a new car.
The 2019 winner, Hiba, from Colchester, drove away in a Vauxhall Corsa after pledging to always wear a seat belt.
Hiba praised the #MySmallChange campaign, describing it as informative and effective, saying the new wheels would allow her to visit friends as they head off to universities across the country.
Hiba said: “The campaign is a bold idea that is definitely enticing. The idea of winning a car is so surreal so that when it does happen, it is amazing.
“The presentation that helped promote the campaign, about car safety, was very informative and effective, although a little challenging to watch at some parts.
“That, and the questionnaires and short videos attached to each stage of the quiz, highlighted different aspects of car safety as well as some things I don’t think I was aware of before.
“The thing I’m looking forward to in having a car is that it will motivate me to start driving and wanting to go on road trips.
“My friends and I talk about visiting each other while we’re all off to university and apprenticeships all over the country, but having a car means that it will become more possible.
“I am determined to be a safe driver in this car and any and every car that follows in the future.”
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