For more information, contact:

Jessica Erickson, AT&T Wisconsin

608-282-7870 (work)
jessica.erickson@att.com

Williams Bay Students Urged to Take Pledge to

Never Text and Drive at www.ItCanWait.com
Students Also Learn about #X, New Social Tool Geared
Toward Helping Teens Stop Texting & Driving
AT&T, AAA, Wisconsin State Patrol Team Up to Highlight Dangers
WILLIAMS BAY, Friday, April 17, 2015 Over 220 students at Williams Bay Junior / Senior High School
learned today about the dangers of texting while driving and were urged to take the pledge to never text behind
the wheel at www.ItCanWait.com.
Williams Bay teamed up with AT&T, AAA, the Wisconsin State Patrol and State Senator Steve Nass as part of the
It Can Wait movement to remind students that text messages can and should wait until after driving.
Texting and driving is not only against the law, but it is also one of the most dangerous activities an individual can
engage in while driving, said Dr. William White, Williams Bay Principal. We hope the It Can Wait message sinks
in for our students and they take the pledge to never text and drive.
Todays assembly was part of a series of events being held at high schools across the state this school year by
AT&T, AAA and the Wisconsin State Patrol to drive home the dangers of texting and driving and encourage teens
to take the pledge.
During todays event, teens learned about #X a new social tool introduced as part of the It Can Wait campaign
that is geared toward helping teens stop texting and driving. The school was also presented with two permanent
It Can Wait parking lot signs that remind students to never text and drive.
Our It Can Wait campaign has always targeted teens, as they are not only our newest and most inexperienced
drivers, but also the most prevalent texters, said Scott T. VanderSanden, president of AT&T Wisconsin. #X is
simple, quick to enter and easily shareable, and we hope it will act as a digital rallying cry for teens and others to
help end this deadly epidemic.
#X is a tool that teens can use to pause a text or social conversation before beginning to drive. The symbol is a
way for teens to quickly let their friends know that they are about to drive and wont be responding to texts or
social media until they arrive safely at their destination.

Students were given the chance to experience the dangers of texting while driving in a safe setting through AAAs
distracted driving simulator. They were also shown a powerful documentary produced by AT&T called The Last
Text that shares real stories about lives ended by someones decision to text and drive.
AT&T first launched the It Can Wait campaign in 2009 to educate the public about the dangers of texting while
driving and encourage consumers to take the pledge to not text and drive at www.ItCanWait.com. The campaign
has now turned into a national social movement with support from organizations all across the country, including
the Wisconsin State Patrol and AAA. Since 2010, AT&T, AAA and the State Patrol have partnered together to hold
events in 67 cities throughout Wisconsin, reaching nearly 29,000 high school students.
Wisconsin took an important step over four years ago to ban texting while driving, said State Senator Steve
Nass (R-Whitewater), who voted to pass the states ban. We know, however, that too many people still text
behind the wheel even though its illegal. Thats why efforts like the It Can Wait campaign are so important to
raise awareness about the dangers and help change peoples behavior.
The It Can Wait movement is making a difference, inspiring over 6.3 million pledges to never text and drive. One
in three people who have seen the texting while driving message also say theyve changed their driving habits.
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety recently completed a groundbreaking naturalistic study of teen crashes,
which revealed that teens who were texting prior to a crash had taken their eyes off the road for an average of 4.1
out of the last six seconds before impact.
The dangers of texting are greatest for teen drivers who cannot draw upon previous experience to manage
unsafe situations, said Vicki Hanson, Regional President of AAA Wisconsin. We encourage parents to reinforce
the It Can Wait campaign at home by implementing a parent-teen driving agreement.
A copy of AAAs sample driving agreement and other teen driving resources can be found at
www.TeenDriving.AAA.com.
Wisconsins law, effective as of December 1, 2010, prohibits sending an e-mail or text message while driving and
imposes a fine of up to $400. As a primary enforcement law, officers may stop and ticket drivers solely for texting
and driving. Wisconsin is among 41 states and the District of Columbia that ban text messaging by all drivers.
For more information on the It Can Wait campaign, please visit: ItCanWait.com.

About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) helps millions of people and businesses around the globe stay connected through leading wireless, high-speed Internet,
voice and cloud-based services. Were helping people mobilize their worlds with state-of-the-art communications, entertainment services and
amazing innovations like connected cars and devices for homes, offices and points in between. Our U.S. wireless network offers customers
the nations strongest LTE signal and the nations most reliable 4G LTE network. We offer the best global wireless coverage. Were improving
how our customers stay entertained and informed with AT&T U-verse TV and High Speed Internet services. And businesses worldwide are
serving their customers better with AT&Ts mobility and highly secure cloud solutions.
Additional information about AT&T products and services is available at http://about.att.com. Follow our news on Twitter at @ATT, on
Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/att and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/att.
2015 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T
Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
Reliability and signal strength claims based on nationwide carriers LTE. Signal strength claim based ONLY on avg. LTE signal strength. LTE
not available everywhere. Global coverage claim based on offering voice and data roaming in more countries than any other U.S. based
carrier, and offering the most wireless smartphones and tablets that work in the most countries.