School Is in Session. Take the Pledge Not to Text & Drive September 19

More than 100,000 times each year, an automobile crashes and people are injured or die while a driver was texting and driving, according to a statistic from the National Safety Council.  This month are children started school making it a good time to remind one another about driver safety and the dangers of texting and driving.

At AT&T, I’m proud to say we’re doing our utmost to educate the public, especially young drivers, about the dangers of this distraction.

A recent AT&T survey found that 97 percent of teens say they know that texting is dangerous. The survey also found:

• 75 percent of teens surveyed say that texting while driving is “common” among their friends;
• Almost all teens (89 percent) expect a reply to a text or email within five minutes or less;
• And 77 percent of teens report seeing their parents text while driving.

 Together our employees and supporters are urging all Americans to take the pledge to stop texting while driving, and then share their promise with others via Twitter (#itcanwait) and Facebook. The goal is to make texting and driving as unacceptable as drinking and driving. (See video) 

 Technology can also help with this issue: 89 percent of teens said a phone app to prevent texting & driving – like AT&T DriveMode – would be an effective way to get them or their friends to stop texting and driving.

AT&T first began its “It Can Wait” campaign discouraging texting and driving in 2009. The website www.itcanwait.com provides an opportunity to take the don’t text and drive pledge.  It also offers a host of educational resources and information on the issue – including a documentary featuring families impacted by texting and driving accidents that has been viewed more than 3 million times.

Our message is clear “No text is worth dying for”. We plan to spend tens of millions of dollars on the campaign in 2012. You’ll soon start to see an aggressive social media campaign with advertising on Facebook and Twitter, and new TV advertising. We’re working to provide a toolkit of no-texting-while-driving information to every high school in NJ. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be launching an online driving simulator at www.itcanwait.com– so that anyone with access to the Internet can experience the dangers of texting while driving.

We’re calling on everyone on September 19 to make a lifelong commitment to never text and drive again by taking the pledge at www.itcanwait.com. So join us and remember to put the phone down when you get behind the steering wheel.