Allstate encourages teens to say NO to texting and driving

Photo credit: Allstate Insurance

Since the invention of cellphones the there has been an increase in the number of deaths due to distracted driving. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, car crashes are the number one killer of U.S. teenagers. As a car insurance company Allstate has taken it upon itself to educate teens on the dangers of texting and driving and through its program Allstate Teen's Driver Pledge encourages them to put away their cell phones while driving.

The program asks teens to sign the pledge not to text and drive and when they do they receive a thumb band that says 'TXTING KILLS' as a daily reminder of the commitment they have made. Within two years of the programs inception they received 250,000 signed pledges from teens not to text and drive. The company also set up a Facebook page that provides additional stats, information, pledge stories, event dates and detatils, etc.

This campaign is effective because as a car insurance company the issue of teen drivers and texting and

Photo credit: Allstate Insurance

driving is something that can often be a factor in insurance. The company would have access to information on the epidemic that is texting and driving and made it its responsibility to educate people and try and change this behavior. A campaign like this provides benefits to the company as well giving them a more favorable reputation. Parents may be more swayed to choose Allstate as their insurance company of choice for their teens new car if they have the option to educate their child about driving safety and get them to sign a pledge not to text and drive.

One criticism I have is that yes they are creating more awareness potentially and getting teens to sign the petition but their is no indication that this is truly changing teen behavior or changing statistics around teens and texting and driving. However on their website they do indicate that they have been able to reduce teen traffic accident fatalities by 48 per cent since 2005 but this is a reflection of all their teen safe driving initatives and not a reflection of the 'X the TEXT' pledge.

- Thea Ness