• by Tanya Gazdik , August 4, 2010

The auto insurer's social initiative will promote the music group's "Road Dogs" softball tour. The 12-city tour kicks off Aug. 6, in Joliet, IL. "Road Dogs" started when the Jonas Brothers played recreational softball games while on tour in 2009.

This year, they will be playing seven innings of softball at minor league stadiums throughout the country. At each venue, they will work with Northbrook, Ill.-based Allstate to educate fans about the dangers of texting and driving. All events are free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets are limited to the stadium's capacity. Allstate is promoting the partnership on the movement's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/XtheTXT.

During the game, fans can join the Jonas Brothers in pledging not to text and drive by adding their thumbprint -- the symbol of their pledge -- to a banner that will be traveling with the "Road Dogs" tour. Participants will receive "TXTNG KLLS" thumb bands to wear as a reminder of their commitment. Throughout the game, fans will also have the opportunity to win a meet and greet with the Jonas Brothers.

Grammy-nominated artist Jordin Sparks kicked off Allstate's "X the TXT" campaign last November with a 29-city national tour of live pledge events, a Facebook virtual pledge page, and a petition urging Congress to address the issue of texting while driving. Most recently, "X the TXT" events were held at each of Sparks' 29 concerts during her Battlefield tour.

The social initiative is part of Allstate's broader public education efforts to make roads safer, says Joan Walker, senior vice president of corporate relations at Allstate. According to studies, texting while driving makes drivers 23 times more likely to crash.

Texting is one of the most dangerous distractions facing drivers today, particularly among teens, of which car crashes are the number one killer. According to a recent Allstate Foundation study, 49% of driving teens admit to being extremely distracted by texting and instant messaging while driving. And, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports driver distraction contributes to 25% of all police-reported traffic crashes.