For more information, contact:

Teresa Mask
AT&T Media Relations/Michigan
(248) 205-0161


AT&T CHALLENGES LOCAL TEENS TO JOIN
IT CAN WAIT MOVEMENT TO HALT TEXTING WHILE DRIVING

AT&T Simulator Event at Cass Tech Brings Together Notable Alums to
Encourage Students and Faculty to Pledge Not to Text and Drive
DETROIT, MICH., MAY 14, 2014 Representatives from Cass Tech High School and four
Cass Tech Alums, Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon, Detroit Police Chief James Craig,
Assistant Police Chief Lashinda Houser and AT&T External Affairs Area Manager Robert Jones,
are teaming up to address a dangerous practice that puts millions of Americans at risk: texting
while driving.

Taking your eyes off the road to read or send a text can literally end a lifeyours or someone
elses, which means countless others will also suffer as a result of that tragic moment, said
Sheriff Napoleon. No message is worth it, save it for later.

To drive home the message and make our roads and highways safer with prom and graduation
season underway, AT&T will bring a virtual reality simulator to Cass Tech, allowing students and
faculty to experience firsthand the dangers of texting and driving. As the drivers navigate the
course, they must adhere to common driving laws, such as speed and traffic lights all while
trying to respond to text messages. The May 15 event will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at
the high school, 2501 2
nd
Ave., Detroit.


Students also will hear from Detroit Public Schools alum Shavonne Nelson, the idea founder
behind the AT&T DriveMode app, which helps curb texting while behind the wheel.

It Can Wait is a national movement tapping into the power of social media and personal
networks to make texting and driving as unacceptable as drinking and driving. It urges drivers
to visit www.ItCanWait.com, where they can pledge not to text and drive, and share their pledge
with others via Twitter (#ItCanWait) and Facebook. It also offers a host of educational

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resources and information on the issue including a documentary featuring families impacted
by texting and driving crashes.

The It Can Wait movement is making a difference. One in three people who have seen the
texting while driving message say they've changed their driving habits, and the campaign has
inspired more than 4 million pledges to never text and drive.
Texting while driving causes more than 200,000 car crashes on American roadways each year,
according to the National Safety Council. Those who send text messages while driving are
much more likely to be in a crash.
Research shows that speaking up against texting while driving works. A ConnectSafely.org
survey sponsored by AT&T found that:

78% of teen drivers say they're likely not to text and drive if friends tell them it's wrong or
stupid.

90% say they'd stop if a friend in the car asked them to.

93% would stop if a parent in the car asked them to.

For more information on the It Can Wait campaign, please visit: ItCanWait.com.
National SafetyCouncil www.nsc.org
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AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.


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