18-year-old Rachel Odolski is a real life hero. Thanks to the power of thumb socks, she’s helping her friends and family to stop texting and driving. And as a result, their risk of collision was reduced by 23 times. Baller! Check out our interview with this week’s featured member below:
DoSomething.org: Before you signed up for Thumb Wars, how did you prevent your friends/family from texting and driving?
Rachel Odolski: One way I would prevent my dad from texting and driving was to take his phone and ask to type the message for him as he drove. I would also call him if I knew he was driving, even to ask simple questions like "Where are you?". A way I prevented friends from texting and driving was taking their phones from them if I was in the car with them or just start screaming while rolling up and down the windows until they stopped. Another way I prevented my friends from texting and driving was to stop texting them completely when I asked what they were doing and their responses was "going to..." or "coming back from..." and I would text them later.
DS: Who did you give your thumb socks to and why?
RO: My thumb socks were given to my dad and my boyfriend, because they are the top two people I know who constantly text and drive.
DS: Did it help them to stop texting and driving?
RO: The thumb socks definitely made a difference. Mainly it showed how serious I was about the whole texting and driving habit they had. My dad started to ask me more to text the messages for him and my boyfriend would tell me when he was about to leave or go somewhere.
DS: Do you think Thumb Wars will have long term effects on their driving habits?
RO: Overall I believe that thumb wars will have a long term effect on all the people that I gave the thumb socks to or told them about it.
DS: Why should other people join Thumb Wars?
RO: I would recommend that everyone join thumb wars to show the person, or people, you care about how much you want them to be safe. You could possibly save their life, and others, by breaking this horrible habit.