Some Teen Driver in South Dakota Is Going to Win $20,000

Two minutes of a South Dakota teenage driver's time could lead to a big payday.

The South Dakota Office of Highway Safety and the South Dakota Broadcasters Association are sponsoring Lesson Learned, a campaign being held in conjunction with Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

As part of the campaign, South Dakota high school students may now enter this year’s teen safe driving campaign, where they can win $10,000 for themselves and another $10,000 for a school-sponsored activity or program of their choice.

Lesson Learned is in its ninth year and is appropriately timed with this spring’s driver education classes. It is sponsored by the South Dakota Office of Highway Safety and the South Dakota Broadcasters Association, which provides the prize money.

The entry period runs through April 30th. To participate, students must be between 14 and 19 years of age and can complete a few online questions about safe driving. Each completed quiz earns an entry into the drawing, and the website also tracks participation rates for South Dakota schools.

Last year’s winner, Kasen Bender, a freshman at Watertown High School, received the $10,000 prize and chose the school’s soccer program as the recipient of a matching $10,000 award.

He won out of a record-breaking 4,427 entries.

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According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving killed 3,142 people in 2019, which was a 10 percent increase from the previous year.