Safety Insurance and Safe Roads Alliance Launch Public Service Campaign: 'Bucks for Hang-Ups'

Organizations Partner to Reward Drivers for Hanging Up Cell Phones when Behind the Wheel

BOSTON, Oct. 14 -- Safety Insurance, a leading provider of auto, home and commercial insurance in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and Safe Roads Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to driver safety, announce the official launch of the "Bucks for Hang-Ups" campaign to promote safer driving practices throughout Massachusetts.

The public service program pays drivers $1 for hanging up their mobile phones, encouraging them to avoid distractions while behind the wheel. Safety Insurance's sponsorship of this campaign furthers the company's commitment to safer driving.

The "Bucks for Hang-Ups" campaign will select dangerous intersections around Massachusetts. When cars are safely stopped -- at a traffic light, for instance -- volunteers will offer $1 to drivers using their cell phones if they agree to hang up and refrain from making calls or texting while they drive.

"Using a cell phone while driving can have serious, and sometimes tragic, consequences," said James Berry, Vice President of Insurance Operations for Safety Insurance. "This program is about rewarding people for becoming safer drivers; one person who hangs up is one less person on the road texting or talking at that moment, which makes the roads safer for everyone."

  Recent research has revealed sobering statistics:

  --  Drivers engaged in cell phone conversations are more susceptible to
      accidents than drunk drivers with blood alcohol levels exceeding the
      legal limit, 0.08.(1)
  --  Cell phone distraction causes 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries a year
      in the United States.(2)

  --  There are approximately 974,000 drivers using cell phones on the road
      at any given time during daylight hours.(3)

"Cell-phone related crashes cause thousands of deaths and serious injuries every year. With 'Bucks for Hang-Ups,' we hope to emphasize the benefits of avoiding cell phone use while driving and make our roads safer," said Jeff Larson, president of Safe Roads Alliance. "We're thrilled to have Safety's support."

The "Bucks for Hang-Ups" campaign will run through June 2010 in cities and towns across eastern Massachusetts including Boston, Cambridge, and Dorchester. To learn more about this campaign, please visit: www.SafeRoadsAlliance.org.

About Safety Insurance

Safety Insurance was founded in 1979 with a belief that it would succeed as a company if customers were given the best possible service. A leading provider of property and casualty insurance in Massachusetts, Safety Insurance is the second largest writer of private passenger automobile, and the third largest writer of commercial automobile insurance in Massachusetts. Safety Insurance offers a portfolio of other personal line insurance products, including, homeowners, dwelling fire, and personal umbrella. In addition, Safety Insurance also offers commercial lines insurance products including, business owner policies, commercial package policies, and commercial umbrellas. Sold exclusively through a network of professional independent agents, Safety Insurance provides agents with state-of-the-art tools that make it easy to service and protect their customers. Safety Insurance has consistently received an "A" rating from A.M. Best. Please visit our website at: http://www.safetyinsurance.com/.

About Safe Roads Alliance

Safe Roads Alliance was formed in 2006 as a not-for-profit Massachusetts organization dedicated to promoting safer driving. Through its High School Outreach Program, Safe Roads offers free presentations to students and parent groups by professional drivers and others on emergency driving skills. Safe Roads also provides educational services to other groups on different aspects of driving safety, including: issues confronting elderly drivers, maintaining a vehicle for safe operation, child restraint systems, seat belt usage, reducing driving distractions, and driver courtesy and reduction of road-rage. Safe Roads is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization whose programs are made possible by the generosity of sponsors and donors. For more information about Safe Roads Alliance, please visit: www.SafeRoadsAlliance.org.

  (1) Human Factors Quarterly Journal, www.accidentinfo.com
  (2) Human Factors Quarterly Journal, www.accidentinfo.com

(3) 2005 National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS), NHTSA, http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/809967.PDF