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Allstate campaign seeks to reduce distracted driving’s toll through showing teens the dangers


April 13, 2015   by Canadian Underwriter


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Allstate Insurance Company has launched a distracted driving campaign in the United States geared at reducing the number of related deaths and injuries, as well as to encourage individuals to change dangerous behaviour at the wheel.

The real, but stationary, car is equipped with virtual reality technology that displays an animated environment on an LED TV embedded in the windshield

Allstate last week launched the third annual national tour, which features its Reality Rides distracted driving simulator. The real, but stationary, car is equipped with virtual reality technology that displays a responsive animated environment on a curved LED television embedded in the windshield, notes a statement from the Illinois-based insurer, whose brand’s network of small businesses offers auto, home, life and retirement products and services to customers in the United States and Canada.

Using the steering wheel, gas and brake pedals, Allstate reports the driver is tasked with driving while also attempting to text, talk on the phone and enter navigation system directions. Potential infractions will land participants “tickets” that they could receive if the experience happened in real life.

Although those polled prior to using the simulator reported they understand distracted driving is dangerous – 85% of respondents think texting and distracted driving is the same or more dangerous than drunk driving – Allstate reports that many did not even try to change their behaviours.

Distracted Driving: Staying Safe on the Road [INFOGRAPHIC]. Photo: Allstate Insurance Company

Infographic courtesy of The Allstate Blog.

In all, almost 60% of respondents admitted to talking on the phone and 43% said they text while driving at least “sometimes,” if not more. As well, about seven in 10 of the individuals polled rated their ability to text or talk on the phone while driving as “fair” or “poor” as opposed to “the same,” “good” or “excellent.”

A second survey following use of the simulator showed six in 10 participants said they would “never text and drive,” while almost one-third of those polled reported they would “think twice about texting while driving.”

Beyond driving themselves, 58% of participants noted that they will not let others drive distracted, and 92% said they are less likely to ride with others who text or are distracted while driving.

Based on the 2013-2014 results of the Allstate Reality Rides Survey – an onsite, multiple-choice survey of more than 4,500 participants aged 15 and older from April 2013 through November 2014 – the insurer reports that distracted driving is attributed to about 16% percent of all car collisions.

Citing 2013 figures from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Allstate states more than 3,000 lives are lost and 400,000 people are injured as a result of distracted driving each year. NHTSA reports that car crashes are the number one cause of death for everyone in the U.S. ages 11 to 27, with teens crashing four times more often than any other age group.

Allstate supports stronger teen driving laws – called graduated driver licensing (GDL) – which have been shown in research from Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety to reduce traffic fatalities by as much as 30% in the states where they have been adopted.

The Allstate Foundation’s License to Save report also shows comprehensive GDL laws could save an estimated 2,000 lives and US$13.6 billion annually.

“More than a decade ago, we began to build awareness of how distractions in the car could become driving dangers. Today, our Reality Rides simulator provides an impactful way for drivers to learn firsthand how significantly distractions can affect their ability to drive safely,” says Steve Sorenson, executive vice president of product operations at Allstate Insurance Company.

Reality Rides will tour 25 cities in the U.S.


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