X the TXT and Give Thumbs Up to Safest Holiday Ever

Allstate's "X the TXT: Thumbs Up to the Safest Holiday Ever" is a national public awareness campaign aimed at minimizing one of the most dangerous driver distractions facing teens today- texting. The campaign includes stops in 30 cities (including The Today Show), where participants will pledge not to text and drive by leaving their thumb prints on a pledge banner making its way across the country.

By taking the pledge, Allstate hopes teens and parents will take personal action to help save lives this holiday season and beyond. The holidays are one of the deadliest times of the year for teen drivers, and this campaign is the latest in Allstate's long-standing commitment to promoting teen safe driving.

Allstate is partnering with singer Jordin Sparks and her mom, Jodi Sparks, to help us X the TXT. Beginning with a national kickoff on November 17, the campaign tour will include live pledge events in 30 cities from November through January, with a "Top the Tally" competition to see which city can gather the most thumb pledges. Other components of the campaign include:

• Teens who take the pledge will receive thumb bands they can wear as a reminder and symbol of their pledge.
• Reaching out to the public to encourage them to join our Facebook cause page and make a virtual pledge not to text and drive.
• Allstate donating $1 (up to $25,000) to the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) for every Facebook pledge supporter of Facebook.com/thumbsuppledge.

How can you get involved?

There are a number of ways you can get involved:

• View a complete list of cities where the tour will stop at Facebook.com/thumbsuppledge.
• Will the tour stop near you? I encourage you to attend the event to make your public pledge.
• Share the family pledge with parents of teens and encourage them to have a discussion about safe driving. The family pledge and other teen safe driving resources are available for download at Allstate.com/teen.
• For more information visit www.ShannonHarveyInsurance.com or give us a call at 864-268-9580.

Dangers of texting & driving.

Texting is one of the most dangerous distractions facing teens today. According to a recent Allstate Foundation study, 82 percent of driving teens claim to use cell phones while driving, and 49 percent admit to being extremely distracted by texting and instant messaging while driving. Recent research conducted by Virginia Tech's Transportation Institute reveals that texting while driving can increase the risk of an accident by 23 times.

The study also shows parents can have a profound effect on their teen's driving behavior. 81 percent of teens admit their parents have the most influence on how they drive, and 79 percent say they are most likely to take driving safety advice from their parents.