NORTHBROOK, Ill., April 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Curved LED
televisions embedded in the windshield of real vehicles will serve
as centerpieces of Allstate Insurance Company's "Reality
RidesSM" 2014 national campaign tour. Kicking off during
the peak of "Distracted Driving Awareness Month," Reality Rides is
a unique driving simulation experience featuring innovative
distracted driving technology. The tour will start in Philadelphia and travel to more than 40
American cities at venues ranging from community gatherings to
sporting events and teen safe driving advocacy programs.
Reality Rides consists of a driving simulator that utilizes a
real - but stationary - vehicle equipped with virtual reality
technology, including a new curved LED television embedded in the
car windshield. The television displays an animated environment and
reacts to the driver's motions. Using the car's steering wheel, gas
and brake pedals, the driver is tasked with driving while also
attempting to text, talk on the phone and enter navigation system
directions.
"With measurable results and increasing demand, the Allstate
Reality Rides tour is featuring new technology upgrades this year
to provide our customers and consumers the most realistic driving
simulation experience we've used to date," said Sanjay Gupta, executive vice president of
marketing, innovation and corporate relations at Allstate Insurance
Company. "The tour has increased awareness of distracted driving
dangers, while providing families with a fun way to spark a serious
discussion about road safety."
These simulations demonstrate the potential consequences
distracted drivers could face while on the road. To add impact to
the experience, participants are given traffic "tickets" that
reveal potential infractions a driver could receive if the drive
happened in real life. Participants will also have the opportunity
to take the Allstate X the TXT® pledge that promises to not text
and drive.
Last year, the first tour surveyed more than 1,700 people who
experienced the Reality Rides simulator. Seventy-three percent said
they learned more about distracted driving after experiencing the
simulation, and 83 percent found the program "fun and effective,"
which fueled Allstate to continue the efforts in 2014.
Key findings from the 2013 Allstate Reality Rides tour survey
indicate drivers are aware of the dangers of distracted driving,
but there is still opportunity to influence their safer driving
actions:
- More than one-third of drivers say they text and drive at least
some of the time, and 71 percent believe their driving ability
while texting is worse than if they were driving without
distractions.
- Half of drivers say that they talk on the phone while
driving.
- Nearly eight-in-ten drivers think texting while driving is the
same or worse than drunk driving.
- After the simulation, 68 percent of participants said they will
never text and drive again and 62 percent said they wouldn't
let others drive distracted.
- Seventy-seven percent of participants said they are less likely
to ride with others who are texting and driving thanks to Reality
Rides.
- Four-in-ten drivers have no or minimal knowledge about
Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) laws.i
Allstate continues to advocate for distracted driving prevention
because in 2010 and 2011 more than 3,000 deaths from crashes with a
distracted driver occurred each year.i Studies
have shown drivers who text are 23 times more likely to crash, and
texting while driving is the equivalent to driving impaired after
drinking four beers.ii
Car crashes are the number one cause of death for everyone in
the U.S. ages 1-34, with teens crashing four times more often than
any other age group.iii Stronger teen driving
laws, referred to as Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL), have been
shown to reduce traffic fatalities by as much as 40 percent in the
states where they have been adopted.iv
Additionally, recent research from The Allstate Foundation's
License to Save report found that comprehensive GDL laws could save
an estimated 2,000 lives and $13.6
billion annually.v
To track the Allstate Reality Rides tour and see photos of
participants, visit facebook.com/xthetxt. While there, check out
information and resources, engage in the conversation and invite
family and friends to take action in support of stronger teen
driving laws.
Survey Methodology
The onsite, multiple-choice
Allstate Reality Rides 2013 survey of more than 1,700 Americans age
15+ was conducted from April through November of 2013 via 26
Reality Rides events before and after experiencing the distracted
driving simulator. Gathered respondent data was normalized to
ensure consistency between the pre- and post-simulation
experience.
The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation's largest
publicly held personal lines insurer, serving approximately 16
million households through its Allstate, Encompass, Esurance and
Answer Financial brand names and Allstate Financial business
segment. Allstate branded insurance products (auto, home, life and
retirement) and services are offered through Allstate agencies,
independent agencies, and Allstate exclusive financial
representatives, as well as via www.allstate.com,
www.allstate.com/financial and 1-800 Allstate®, and are
widely known through the slogan "You're In Good Hands With
Allstate®." In 2013, $29
million was given by The Allstate Foundation, Allstate, its
employees and agency owners to support local communities. Allstate
employees and agency owners donated 200,000 hours of service across
the country.
i 2013, Allstate Reality Rides
Survey
ii
http://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/facts-and-statistics.html
iii Source: Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and
NHTSA, "NHTSA, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute Release
Findings of Breakthrough Research on Real-World Driver Behavior,
Distraction, and Crash Factors"
vi
Setting Limits, Saving Lives – The Case for .08 BAC Laws,
available at www.nhtsa.dot.gov and A Comparison of
the Cell Phone Driver and the Drunk Driver, available at
http://dwiwatch.org/cell-phone-texting.php
v Centers for Disease
Control
vi
http://www.allstatefoundation.org/license-to-save
Photo -
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140410/CG02201-INFO-a
Photo -
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140410/CG02201-INFO-b
Logo -
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130404/MM88193-b
SOURCE Allstate Insurance Company