Paint Your Thumb Red: Putting an End to Distracted Driving

With a new year come new laws, and that is definitely the case for 2014. One of the more notable ones is a ban on talking on the phone while driving. Talking and texting while driving are both dangerous and illegal acts, but reaching for our cell phones has become a natural habit. One father found a way to remind him to put down the phone and curb distracted driving: the “red thumb reminder.”

Steve Babock was inspired by his daughter to paint his thumbnail red. He saw her put a string around her finger as a reminder for something else at school. That is when Red Thumb Reminder was born. Babock calls it “an old-school solution to a new world problem.”

The process is simple: get red nail polish, paint your texting thumbnail red, and be reminded to put down the phone while you are driving.

The viral YouTube videos and #RedThumbReminder Instagram photos prove that this campaign isn’t going anywhere anytime soon and it’s having an impact on others to put the phone down.

Distracted diving has become an increasing issue, and automobile companies have been promoting anti-texting and driving campaigns for the past few years. However, Babock might have found an easy and effective campaign that could prevent distracted driving. I would not be surprised if automobile companies are not already knocking at his door to adopt this idea.

So, before you gas up for your next weekend trip home, try painting your thumbnail red, share a picture on Twitter or Instagram with #RedThumbReminder, and help put an end to distracted driving. 


By Ali Seys 

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