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Rabon column: Texting and driving endangers everyone

Take out your wireless device and read the last text message you sent or received. Now ask yourself: Was the message so urgent that it was worth putting your life and the lives of those around you at risk? Probably not. Thats the foundation of AT&Ts campaign, Txtng & Drivng It Can Wait. Wireless products and services are an integral part of daily life for Americans, of all ages. The most recent survey by the CTIA, the national wireless association, found more than 331 million mobile subscriptions at the end of 2011. That is a staggering 104.6 percent of the total population. Many of those users are active texters, with more joining their ranks every day. That same CTIA study found that monthly text messages have eclipsed 193 billion. Texting ranks as the No. 1 mode of communication among teens. Teens, on average, text five times more a day than a typical adult those ages 12-17 text 60 times a day on average. Its easy to see why this exponential growth is occurring. Texting is a convenient, quick and effective way to communicate. But

texting while driving is unwise and unsafe. According to a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, drivers face a crash risk or near-crash risk 23 times greater when texting than when not texting. The American Medical Association has reported that text messaging while driving causes a 400 percent increase in time spent with eyes off the road. Texting takes your eyes off the road for an average of 5 seconds. At 55 mph, thats like driving the length of a football field completely blind. When drivers read or send a text message, their reaction time is doubled. When asked to respond to a flashing light while texting behind the wheel, drivers were over 11 times more likely to miss the light altogether. The reality is that no message is so urgent that it is worth diverting attention from the road and risking lives in the process. The Txtng & Drivng campaign is designed to help educate the general public
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especially students about using wireless devices safely while driving. Our goal is to help generate a change in thinking and behavior of all wireless users.

The campaign includes: public service announcements, The Last Text-a powerful 10-minute documentary that features real stories where lives have been drastically altered or even ended because of texting while driving, and an Anti-Texting-While-Driving Pledge developed for the public and employees to show their commitment to ending the behavior. In addition to outreach and public awareness, we are offering AT&T DriveMode, a mobile application designed to help curb texting behind the wheel at the source. When enabled, the app provides a customizable auto-reply message notifying a person who sends a text that the user is driving and cannot respond. For more information, tips and tools, visit the online resource dedicated to educating wireless users about the risks of texting and driving at www.itcanwait.com. At AT&T, we are committed to keeping people connected with their world. Yet we also want all wireless users to use our products and services, and those of our competitors, safely. Our message is simple: When it comes to texting and driving, it can wait.
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8/19/2012