I think we all realize by now that using your phone while driving is a serious safety issue for everyone on the road. As people have come to this realization, they’ve been creating all kinds of ways to try to stop it. The folks over at San Francisco-based EVB are the latest to take on texting while driving, with a new side project offering people a way to remind themselves to put the phone down.
EVB executive creative director Steve Babcock (who took over that role last February) and company are asking people to paint their thumbs red as a reminder that “one thing stands between a life-threatening accident and your phone – and that’s your thumb.” In the above video, Babcock explains that he used to be “one of the worst offenders” on the road when it came to distracted driving, but that the Red Thumb Reminder worked for him and he no longer feels the compulsion to use his phone while on the rode. As a bonus, Babcock also found that the red thumb acted as a conversation starter, and when people curiously asked him about his red thumb he was able to pass on the technique. Babcock calls it “an old-school approach to a new-world problem” and hopes it will work for other people as well, while sparking conversations about distracted driving.
So if you’re a habitual distracted driver, or you know someone who is (and I think most of us do), tell them about the Red Thumb Reminder. And if this method doesn’t work for you, find something else that does, because the icy winter roads are dangerous enough as it is.