Virtual Reality Takes a New Turn with Allstate's "Reality Rides(SM)" Across America Tour

NORTHBROOK, Ill., April 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Curved LED televisions embedded in the windshield of real vehicles will serve as centerpieces of Allstate Insurance Company's "Reality Rides^SM" 2014 national campaign tour. Kicking off during the peak of "Distracted Driving Awareness Month," Reality Rides is a unique driving simulation experience featuring innovative distracted driving technology. The tour will start in Philadelphia and travel to more than 40 American cities at venues ranging from community gatherings to sporting events and teen safe driving advocacy programs.

Reality Rides consists of a driving simulator that utilizes a real - but stationary - vehicle equipped with virtual reality technology, including a new curved LED television embedded in the car windshield. The television displays an animated environment and reacts to the driver's motions. Using the car's 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.

"With measurable results and increasing demand, the Allstate Reality Rides tour is featuring new technology upgrades this year to provide our customers and consumers the most realistic driving simulation experience we've used to date," said Sanjay Gupta, executive vice president of marketing, innovation and corporate relations at Allstate Insurance Company. "The tour has increased awareness of distracted driving dangers, while providing families with a fun way to spark a serious discussion about road safety."

These simulations demonstrate the potential consequences distracted drivers could face while on the road. To add impact to the experience, participants are given traffic "tickets" that reveal potential infractions a driver could receive if the drive happened in real life. Participants will also have the opportunity to take the Allstate X the TXT® pledge that promises to not text and drive.

Last year, the first tour surveyed more than 1,700 people who experienced the Reality Rides simulator. Seventy-three percent said they learned more about distracted driving after experiencing the simulation, and 83 percent found the program "fun and effective," which fueled Allstate to continue the efforts in 2014.

Key findings from the 2013 Allstate Reality Rides tour survey indicate drivers are aware of the dangers of distracted driving, but there is still opportunity to influence their safer driving actions:

• More than one-third of drivers say they text and drive at least some of the time, and 71 percent believe their driving ability while texting is worse than if they were driving without distractions.
• Half of drivers say that they talk on the phone while driving.
• Nearly eight-in-ten drivers think texting while driving is the same or worse than drunk driving.
• After the simulation, 68 percent of participants said they will never text and drive again and 62 percent said they wouldn't let others drive distracted.
• Seventy-seven percent of participants said they are less likely to ride with others who are texting and driving thanks to Reality Rides.
• Four-in-ten drivers have no or minimal knowledge about Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) laws.ⁱ

Allstate continues to advocate for distracted driving prevention because in 2010 and 2011 more than 3,000 deaths from crashes with a distracted driver occurred each year.ⁱ Studies have shown drivers who text are 23 times more likely to crash, and texting while driving is the equivalent to driving impaired after drinking four beers.ⁱⁱ

Car crashes are the number one cause of death for everyone in the U.S. ages 1-34, with teens crashing four times more often than any other age group.ⁱⁱⁱ Stronger teen driving laws, referred to as Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL), have been shown to reduce traffic fatalities by as much as 40 percent in the states where they have been adopted.^iv Additionally, recent 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.^v

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 Methodology
The onsite, multiple-choice Allstate Reality Rides 2013 survey of more than 1,700 Americans age 15+ was conducted from April through November of 2013 via 26 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, serving approximately 16 million households through its Allstate, Encompass, Esurance and Answer Financial brand names and Allstate Financial business segment. Allstate branded insurance products (auto, home, life and retirement) and services are offered through Allstate agencies, independent agencies, and Allstate exclusive financial representatives, as well as via www.allstate.com, www.allstate.com/financial and 1-800 Allstate^®, and are widely known through the slogan "You're In Good Hands With Allstate^®." In 2013, $29 million was given by The Allstate Foundation, Allstate, its employees and agency owners to support local communities. Allstate employees and agency owners donated 200,000 hours of service across the country.

ⁱ 2013, Allstate Reality Rides Survey
ⁱⁱ http://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/facts-and-statistics.html
ⁱⁱⁱ Source: 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"
^vi 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://dwiwatch.org/cell-phone-texting.php 
^v Centers for Disease Control
^vi http://www.allstatefoundation.org/license-to-save

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SOURCE Allstate Insurance Company