Allstate's Reality Rides® Simulator Races Across America To Help Save Lives

NORTHBROOK, Ill., April 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 3,000 lives are lost and 400,000 people are injured as a result of distracted driving each year.[i] Allstate is helping to prevent these avoidable tragedies by launching a national tour with the company's Reality Rides distracted driving simulator this month. In its third year, the campaign builds awareness about the dangers of distracted driving and offers tips and information on how to be safer behind the wheel.

"Educating drivers about safety has long been a commitment for Allstate," said Steve Sorenson, executive vice president of product operations at Allstate Insurance Company. "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."

A survey of more than 4,500 people who experienced Reality Rides' simulation shows that sixty-nine percent learned more about distracted driving, and 85 percent found the program "fun and effective."[ii]

Reality Rides features a real but stationary car equipped with virtual reality technology that displays a responsive animated environment on a curved LED television embedded in the windshield. Using the 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. Participants are given traffic "tickets" that reveal potential infractions a driver could receive if the experience happened in real life, and have the opportunity to take the Allstate X the TXT® pledge to not text and drive.

Curbing Bad HabitsAllstate Reality Rides tours surveyed participants before experiencing the simulator and found they "get" how distracted driving is dangerous, yet many didn't make attempts to curb their behaviors:

• Nearly sixty percent admit to talking on the phone and 43 percent admit to texting while driving at least "sometimes" if not more.
• Nearly seven-in-10 rate their ability to text or talk on the phone while driving as "fair" or "poor" as opposed to "the same," "good" or "excellent."
• Two-thirds of drivers said their knowledge of texting's impairment effect was average or above.
• A large majority (85 percent) think texting and distracted driving is the same or more dangerous than drunk driving.

Reality Rides ReachAfter experiencing the Reality Rides simulation, participants answered another survey that gauged its reach in changing their road safety opinions:

• Six-in-10 said they would "never text and drive," and another nearly one-third said they would "think twice about texting while driving."
• Majority of participants (58 percent) said they will not let others drive distracted or they will inform others of the dangers (almost 35 percent).
• A vast majority – 92 percent – said they are less likely to ride with others who text or are distracted while driving.

The Facts on Distracted Driving and Teen Safe Driving:

• Distracted driving is attributed to about 16 percent of all car collisions.[ii]
• Studies have shown drivers who text are 23 times more likely to crash[iii], and texting while driving is the equivalent to driving impaired after drinking four beers.[iv]
• Car crashes are the number one cause of death for everyone in the U.S. ages 11-27, with teens crashing four times more often than any other age group.[i]
• Stronger teen driving laws, referred to as Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL), have been shown to reduce traffic fatalities by as much as 30 percent in the states where they have been adopted.[v]
• 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.[iii]

Reality Rides will tour 25 American cities starting with the Denver Auto Show and will continue on to venues ranging from community gatherings to sporting events and teen safe driving advocacy programs. 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 MethodologyThe onsite, multiple-choice Allstate Reality Rides 2013-2014 survey of more than 4,500 Americans age 15 and older was conducted from April 2013 through November of 2014 via 70 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, protecting approximately 16 million households from life's uncertainties through auto, home, life and other insurance offered through its Allstate, Esurance, Encompass and Answer Financial brand names. Allstate is widely known through the slogan "You're In Good Hands With Allstate®." The Allstate brand's network of small businesses offers auto, home, life and retirement products and services to customers in the United States and Canada. In 2014, The Allstate Foundation, Allstate, its employees and agency owners gave $34 million to support local communities. Allstate employees and agency owners donated 200,000 hours of service across the country.

[i] 2013, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), "2013 Quick Facts," http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812100.pdf[ii] 2013-2014, Allstate Reality Rides® Survey[iii] 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://www.distraction.gov/downloads/pdfs/a-comparison-of-the-cell-phone-driver-and-the-drunk-driver.pdf [iv] 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"[v] January 2015, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, "2015 Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws: Lethal Loopholes"

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SOURCE Allstate