AT&T Launches No Text While Driving Campaign And Pledge Day [Updates]

To address the staggering rates of automobile and death related accidents caused by people texting while driving, AT&T is launching a nationwide “It Can Wait” campaign to urge Americans to stop texting while behind the wheel. Over 100,000 automobile accidents and related injuries occur each year while drivers are texting, said AT&T Chairman & CEO Randall Stephenson, citing a statistic from the National Safety Council.

While some states have enacted laws that prohibit texting while driving, AT&T seeks to use its campaign to influence drivers to make a lifelong commitment to textless driving.

The campaign will involve working with television and music celebrities and social networks, including Facebook and Twitter, to promote first, a “No Text On Board Pledge Day,” on September 19th, followed by an extensive media campaign. The never-text-and-drive pledge means you are committing to not writing text messages, checking emails, or watching videos while driving, and to encourage others to do the same. Put simply: “No Text Is Worth the Risk. It Can Wait.”

AT&T has already launched a website, itcanwait.org, which includes statistics about the problem, and a no-texting-while driving video–featuring 16 year-old singer, Ryan Baetty. Visitors to the site can sign the pledge and post no-driving-and-texting messages to their social network accounts. There are also resources, including banner ads, email tags, and fliers, for schools and businesses to help promote the campaign.

AT&T has also released a DriveMode app which when turned on disables features of your mobile device to keep you focused on driving.

Source: MacRumors

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