December 9, 2007
Judge Tom
1

Grammy nominee Taylor Swift [age 17] against DWT.

Driving while texting [DWT] has the national spotlight. Country singer/songwriter Taylor Swift [“Our Song” – “Teardrops on My Guitar” – “Tim McGraw”] participated on a panel of teen judges in Allstate’s Holiday Holla competition.

The contest challenged teens across America to rewrite traditional Christmas carols with new lyrics about smart driving. Car crashes are the #1 killer of teens in the United States [nearly 6,000 each year].

taylorswift2

Taylor Swift

On December 8, 2007 Taylor presented the $15,000.00 first prize to 18-year-olds Danny Luebke and Carl Turner. They performed their acoustic version of Good King Wencelaus at the finals at the Mall of America in Minnesota.  

Taylor stated that “…we as young drivers have the power to change. … hopefully teens will start to think twice before doing something dangerous like text messaging while driving.” To hear their song and learn more about Allstate’s program go to: www.holidayholla.com. Better yet, take a look at Allstate’s Keep the Drive program promoting smart driving at www.keepthedrive.com.

Second place went to Nick Bates [15], Fred Kreider [15] and Lucas Wiggins [14] who performed a punk rock version of We Three Kings. Third place was awarded to Lauren Lindstrom [17], Zoe Novic [16], and Eli Zinman [16].

Judge Tom

The Author Judge Tom

Judge Tom is the founder and moderator of AsktheJudge.info. He is a retired juvenile judge and spent 23 years on the bench. He has written several books for lawyers and judges as well as teens and parents including 'Teen Cyberbullying Investigated' (Free Spirit Publishing) and 'Every Vote Matters: the Power of Your Voice, from Student Elections to the Supreme Court' (Free Spirit Publishing). In 2020, the American Bar Association published "Cyberbullying Law," the nation's first case-law book written for lawyers, judges and law students. When he's not answering teens' questions, Judge Tom volunteers with the American Red Cross and can be found hiking, traveling and reading.

Find great resources in our

Teen Help Network

Leave A Comment

1 Comment

  • My Acne care treatments
    July 3, 2009 8:16 pm count( 0 )

    beautiful singing voice and beautiful face now that is a perfect combination. Taylor Swift must have been the luckiest girl on earth.