CHICAGO, July 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Chicago parents and teens took a pledge
recently to limit or altogether eliminate distractions from their
cars at Allstate Insurance Company's Family Driving Challenge.
The event held at US Cellular Field, is a hands-on experience
where parents and teens learn what distractions can do to a driver
behind the wheel. Professional driving instructors took parent-teen
teams through a special advanced driving course which included
distractions such as phone calls, texting and rowdy passengers.
With each added distraction, the course became more difficult and
both teens and parents hit cones and veered off course.
"Driving today is completely different than just a few years
ago," said Alice Byrne, Field Vice
President for Allstate's Midwest Region. "With cell phones, MP3
players and other smart devices, we are constantly multi-tasking,
but it shouldn't be done while driving."
After completing the Chicago Family Driving Challenge, several
parents and their teens placed their thumbprint on a large banner,
symbolizing their family pledge to keep their thumbs-up and off the
phone while in the car.
The Family Driving Challenge is being held in 38 cities across
the United States and is designed
to help reduce the numbers around some alarming statistics around
distracted driving. According to the National Highway Traffic and
Safety Administration:
- Nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a
distracted driver.
- Driver distraction contributes to 25 percent of all
police-reported traffic crashes.
- Younger, inexperienced drivers under 20 years old have the
highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes.
- Car crashes are the number one killer of American teens,
killing thousands each year and injuring hundreds of thousands
more.
The Family Driver Challenge is an updated version of Allstate's
"Action Against Distraction" campaign that only included teen
drivers participating in a similar distracted driver course. The
Family Driving Challenge includes parent participation since safe
driving habits need to start at home.
According to a recent study by the Allstate Foundation, almost
90% of the teens surveyed said their parents were the biggest
influencers on their driving habits.
"Teens are watching what their parents are doing while driving
and it influences their behavior," said Byrne. "This is why
it is so important for parents to put down their phones, limit
their distractions and overall, set a good example in the car for
their teens."
Allstate Insurance Company encourages safe driving practices
among all drivers. Allstate also supports a federal graduated
driver licensing law called the Safe Teen and Novice Uniform
Protection (STANDUP) Act – H.R. 1895 – which was introduced in
Congress in April 2009. If passed,
the bill creates uniform GDL standards across all 50 states. To
learn more about the STANDUP act visit www.saferoads4teens.org. For
additional resources on protecting teen drivers, including an
interactive parent-teen driving contract, visit
www.allstate.com/teen.
About Allstate
The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation's largest
publicly held personal lines insurer. Widely known through the
"You're In Good Hands With Allstate®" slogan, Allstate is
reinventing protection and retirement to help more than 17 million
households insure what they have today and better prepare for
tomorrow. Consumers access Allstate insurance products and services
through Allstate agencies, independent agencies, and Allstate
exclusive financial representatives in the U.S. and Canada, as well as via www.allstate.com and
1-800 Allstate®.
CONTACT:
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Ellie Klooster
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Office: (847)
667-8108
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Cell: (224) 612-2636
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ellie.klooster@allstate.com
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SOURCE Allstate Insurance Company