Monmouth Medical Center & Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus Team Up with AT&T to Raise Awareness of Distracted Driving

According to research compiled by AT&T, seven in 10 people engage in smartphone activities while driving. In an effort to raise awareness of the dangers of distracted driving, Monmouth Medical Center, Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus, Safe Kids NJ-Monmouth-Ocean Chapter, and AT&T joined together at Pier Village in Long Branch for a community education event through AT&T’s It Can Wait campaign. The campaign, introduced in 2010, utilizes virtual reality to urge drivers to keep their eyes on the road, not on their phones.

During the event, participants were able to “drive” a virtual reality (VR) simulator to experience why no text, post, selfie or scroll is worth a life. The event gave Pier Village visitors and beachgoers a chance to safely experience how dangerous it can be when drivers take their eyes off the road to look at their smartphones.

Monmouth Medical Center pediatric intensivist Amit C Misra, M.D., joined 11th Legislative District representatives Senator Jennifer Beck and Assemblywoman Joann Downey and Carol Ann Giardelli, director of Safe Kids New Jersey, to draw attention to the important safety message regarding smartphone distractions while driving. The Unterberg Children’s Hospital’s Safe Kids chapter offered safety information along with games and prizes and Fun 107.1 and Thunder 106 provided entertainment and giveaways.

According to Dr. Misra, Monmouth Medical Center supports the campaign to prevent accidents due to smartphone usage while driving. “Our message is simple — focus on driving and don’t use smartphones while you’re behind the wheel,” he said.

The campaign includes an immersive experience, delivered through Samsung Gear VR, with premium sound from Bose QuietComfort® 25 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® Headphones. Google Cardboard is a resource that lets people use their own smartphones to see the 3D virtual reality program.

According to Giardelli, Safe Kids surveyed 1,000 teens about texting while driving. Survey results showed 39 percent of teens said they have ridden with a teen driver who was texting and 95 percent said they think other teens have ridden with drivers who were texting.

AT&T’s It Can Wait campaign began with a focus on not texting and driving but has since been expanded to focus on the broader dangers of smartphone use behind the wheel. Since its inception, the campaign has helped grow awareness of the dangers of smartphone distracted driving to more than 90 percent of audiences surveyed and inspired more than 8 million pledges to keep their eyes on the road, not on their phones. To experience the program at home, visit www.ItCanWait.com/VR.

Photo: From left, Assemblywoman Joann Downey; Amit C. Misra, M.D., pediatric intensivist, The Unterberg Children’s Hospital at Monmouth Medical Center; Senator Jennifer Beck; and Charlene Brown, External Affairs Executive Director, AT&T

About Monmouth Medical Center

Located in Long Branch, N.J., Monmouth Medical Center, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, along with The Unterberg Children’s Hospital at Monmouth Medical Center, is one of New Jersey's largest academic medical centers and has been a teaching affiliate of Philadelphia’s Drexel University College of Medicine for more than 40 years. From its earliest days, Monmouth Medical Center has been a leader in surgical advancement and has introduced many technological firsts to the region, including robotic surgery and other minimally invasive techniques. U.S. News & World Report has recognized Monmouth as a regional leader in cancer, geriatrics, gynecology, neurology and neurosurgery. Monmouth Medical Center is the only hospital in Monmouth and Ocean counties to receive an “A” Hospital Safety Score by The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit organization of employer purchasers of health care and the nation’s leading experts on patient safety.