Plant High Students Experience Dangers of Distracted Driving through Virtual Reality Simulator

Plant High School students got to experience firsthand how dangerous it is to take their eyes off the road and glance at a smartphone on Oct. 21. To drive home the message about the dangers of distracted driving, AT&T brought a virtual reality driving simulator for an interactive presentation at Plant High.

Tampa Police Chief Eric Ward was there to encourage the students to not drive distracted. He also presented a proclamation from the City of Tampa declaring Oct. 21 It Can Wait Pledge Day.

Plant students pledged their support for the It Can Wait campaign by texting ICWTampa to 50555.

Students also heard from Steve Augello, whose 17-year-old daughter was killed in November 2008 by a driver who was texting. Augello discussed his tragic tale of what can happen when drivers take their eyes off the road.

AT&T research shows that 7-in-10 people engage in smartphone activities while driving. People are doing much more than just texting from behind the wheel. They’re checking email, posting to social media, even snapping selfies.

The Virtual Reality experience is part of the AT&T It Can Wait campaign, which urges drivers to end distracted driving. The campaign began with a focus on not texting and driving. It has now expanded to the broader dangers of smartphone use behind the wheel.

Since AT&T launched its It Can Wait campaign in 2010, the campaign has:

· Helped grow awareness of the dangers of smartphone distracted driving to more than 90% of audiences surveyed.

· Inspired more than 11 million pledges by drivers to keep their eyes on the road, not on their phones.

· Worked with departments of transportation in Texas, Kentucky and other states on research that suggests a correlation between It Can Wait campaign activities and a reduction in crashes.

· Collaborated with AT&T data scientists on research that shows how statewide anti-texting laws impact the rate of texting while driving.