Thumb Socks Wage War Against Texting While Driving

By Bengt Halvorson

Bengt Halvorson

Deputy Editor BIO

Bengt Halvorson is Deputy Editor of High Gear Media's portfolio of car sites, overseeing the production of reviews, evaluating vehicles firsthand... More

LATEST ARTICLE
Honda Accord Or Nissan Altima: Which One Does V-6 Better?
A decade ago, both the Honda Accord and Nissan Altima were offered in base four-cylinder versions... Read More

• #2LEADERBOARD RANK
• 2659ARTICLES CONTRIBUTED
• 108COMMENTS POSTED

2 2,481 views Apr 26, 2010

Follow Bengt

Add to circle

Thumb Wars -

Enlarge Photo

Yet about three fourths of all teens admit to texting while driving, even though the practice is banned for all drivers in 23 states in addition to the District of Columbia. And that's not even considering the states that have additional restrictions for novice drivers.

Among the more creative attempts to raise awareness to teens are the new "thumb socks" employed by a new public-service campaign from DoSomething.org and Sprint.

The campaign, called Thumb Wars: Teens vs. Texting & Driving, "empowers teens to join the fight, get their friends involved, and report back on how they're taking a stand against texting & driving!"

Featuring Joel McHale and Ken Jeong, both co-stars of the NBC series Community, the PSA spots, with the Sprint logo in the corner of the screen for the duration, encourage thumb wars, and for teens to fight against texting and driving.

On the campaign's site, you can order so-called thumb socks, which raise awareness and help prevent texting while driving. The site highlights that car crashes are the leading killer of teens in the U.S., and texting while driving makes you four times more likely to cause a crash.

Teens are then encouraged to keep the thumb socks in their car as a reminder, hosting a Thumb War tournament (we're not sure what this is), or updating their Facebook profile with a photo of them wearing thumb socks.

June, July, and August are the deadliest months of the year for teenage motor-vehicle fatalities, so the timing of the campaign is appropriate.

[ThumbWars.org, via Edmunds Inside Line]