Teenager's Joy At Winning Seat Mii For A Year

MILTON KEYNES, UNITED KINGDOM – May 22, 2013: Lucky Louise Mitchell is overjoyed after winning a SEAT Mii for a year in a road safety campaign’s prize draw.

The 17-year-old was handed the keys to the sunflower yellow Mii Ecomotive at Fife SEAT, based at Bankhead Park in Glenrothes.

The city car, which also comes with a year’s free insurance provided by Swinton Insurance, was up for grabs for youngsters who filled in a questionnaire after attending the Safe Drive Stay Alive roadshow, which has been run in Fife since 2002.

For the time being though, Louise, from Rosyth, must drive with ‘L’ plates until she passes her driving test, which she hopes to do in July after taking her Highers and Advanced Highers at Dunfermline High School.

Safe Drive Stay Alive aims to highlight the dangers faced by new and young drivers on Fife roads and features an annual roadshow staged at Rothes Halls, Glenrothes.

The roadshow demonstrates the terrible outcome that could occur if drivers adopt bad driving habits, such as texting at the wheel or failing to wear a seat belt. Representatives from the emergency services and families who have been involved in road accidents contribute by giving hard-hitting evidence of what could happen to those who are careless.

Mark McKenna, Owner of Fife SEAT, said: “Louise can look forward to a year of happy motoring in the Mii and I hope it helps to inspire her to pass her driving test first time. SEAT is a youthful and young-spirited brand which is immensely popular with younger drivers so we are delighted to support the Safe Drive Stay Alive campaign.

“We hope that offering such a fantastic prize as a Mii will help raise awareness of the campaign and encourage the region’s young motorists to drive safely at all times.”

Louise, who drove away from Fife SEAT with experienced driver mum Karen in the front passenger seat, enthused: “I was amazed to hear I had won a car. It’s absolutely beautiful and I can’t wait to get behind the wheel as often as possible. After I attended the roadshow I filled in a questionnaire evaluating its content. Then I was told at school that my name had been selected at random to win the car for a year.”

Steve Michie, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Community Safety Station Manager, said: “Safe Drive Stay Alive has been instrumental in boosting road safety in Fife. However, we wanted to see how we could intensify the evaluation process and the offer of a brand new car for year is the ideal incentive for youngsters to give feedback on the roadshow.”

Suzanne Holmes, Area Manager for Swinton Insurance, said: “We actively promote safe driving skills and are very pleased to be supporting such a positive campaign in the area.”

Nicola Philp, Development Officer at Fife Community Safety Partnership, the body responsible for the organisation and delivery of this year’s Stay Drive Stay Alive campaign, added: “The roadshow’s main objectives are to raise awareness of the seriousness of speeding and bad driving habits, change attitudes and reduce the number of casualties on Fife’s roads. With this in mind we are grateful to Fife SEAT for their generosity in providing the car for a year and helping to drive home the importance of safe driving.”

Safe Drive Stay Alive was the first roadshow of its kind in mainland Britain and has proven to be so successful that the format has been taken up in other areas of the UK. It has been shortlisted for a prize at this year’s Scottish Transport Awards in the category for Most Effective Road Safety, Traffic Management and Enforcement Project. Winners will be revealed in Glasgow on June 20.