Bowie County student wins safe driving scholarship

TYLER, Texas (KTAL/KMSS) – The North East Texas Regional Mobility Authority (NET RMA) named 10 winners of its 5th annual Linda Thomas Safe Driving Scholarship. $2,000 was awarded to each student, including Tristan Carter, a senior at Pleasant Grove High School.

In his scholarship essay, Tristan weighed the pros and cons of specific technologies, such as driver-assistance systems, hands-free capabilities, and smartphone apps, and their effects on safe driving habits.

“Learning to drive is one of the most exciting things a teenager can do,” Carter said. “Technologies found in the form of GPS make navigation easier, while safety features like lane departure warnings make the road an overall safer place. However, the more readily available technologies become, the more dependent we can become to them. What happens if warning systems fail, cameras glitch out, and self-driving computers cannot handle the weather?”

The scholarship emphasizes the importance of safe driving practices to area high school students and their communities. Recipients were chosen based on safe driving-themed essays and academic and extracurricular achievements. Winners can use scholarship funds for tuition, fees, books, room, board, or other expenses required by their college or university.

“The Linda Thomas Safe Driving Scholarship Program showcases the very best Northeast Texas has to offer,” said Andrea Williams McCoy, NET RMA Community Relations Chair. “We are honored to play a small part in these exceptional students’ educational journeys and look forward to following their successes through college, trade school, and beyond.”

To learn more about the winners and read their essays, visit netrma.org/scholarship.