Nissan Red Thumb Campaign

Jan 23, 2015

2015 Nissan Leaf, available at Naples Nissan

If you make the drive down to our easy-to-find showroom in Naples, you might see folks walking around with red bands on their thumbs. You may be curious about what those bands are. You might even want to quickly look them up on your cell phone, or text a friend about what they are. You may even be tempted to do it while driving.

DON’T!

A Growing Problem

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, cell phones are involved in over 1.5 million car accidents every year, and these accidents lead to over 500,000 injuries and 3,000 deaths year-in and year-out. This is an even bigger problem with drivers under the age of 30. Drivers in their 20s make up 27% of the drivers involved in fatal crashes due to distracted driving. 10% of drivers between the ages of 16 and 20 that are involved in fatal crashes are reported as being distracted by their phone.

It’s not just younger drivers that are offenders though. While 20% of teens interviewed said they carried on long, multiple text message conversation while driving, 10% of parents interviewed also admitted to carrying on lengthy conversations while behind the wheel. Every age group has difficulty putting their phone down, and it has increased the number of accidents and fatalities on our roads.

The Red Thumb Campaign

Nissan, and all Nissan dealers, are pleased to bring you the Red Thumb Campaign as a reminder to not text or use any other mobile device while behind the wheel of a car. Whether you pick up a red band from us at Naples Nissan, you paint your thumbnail red, you get a red thumb ring, or you tie a red ribbon around your thumb, make sure that you have a reminder every time you are tempted to pick up your cell phone while in your car.

To make sure our message gets out, Nissan has partnered with NBC and Adam Levine, the lead singer of Maroon 5 and a team leader on The Voice. This helps us put a face to our movement, and helps us reach out to multiple channels to connect with drivers. By making drivers aware of the dangers they face when driving distracted, we hope that it will reduce the amount of distracted driving incidents and fatalities. The entire campaign was founded by Steve Babcock, who was inspired by his daughter’s habit of tying a piece of yarn around her finger as a reminder.