4.28.16 - Bonduel HS ICW Event

News Release
For more information, contact:

Jessica Erickson, AT&T
608-692-5340
[email protected]
Students at Bonduel High School Urged to Take Pledge to

Keep Eyes on the Road, Not on Their Phones
April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month;
AT&T, AAA, Wisconsin State Patrol Team Up to Highlight Dangers
BONDUEL, Thursday, April 28, 2016 As Wisconsin marks Distracted Driving Awareness Month in April, 300
students at Bonduel High School learned today about the dangers of smartphone activities while driving and were
encouraged to take the pledge to keep their eyes on the road and not on their phones.
Bonduel High School teamed up with AT&T, AAA and the Wisconsin State Patrol as part of the It Can Wait campaign
to remind students that smartphone activity can and should wait until after driving.
In todays mobile world, many drivers are engaging in unsafe smartphone activities behind the wheel, from texting to
checking social media to even video chatting, said Principal Jane Wonderling. Our young people need to know how
dangerous and potentially deadly this behavior can be. We hope our students will take the It Can Wait message to
heart and put their phones down while driving.
Todays assembly was part of a series of high school events AT&T, AAA and the Wisconsin State Patrol are holding
this school year to drive home the dangers of distracted driving and encourage students to take the pledge.
The effort is part of AT&Ts It Can Wait campaign, which has expanded from a focus on texting while driving to
include other smartphone activities now common behind the wheel.
When we launched the It Can Wait campaign five years ago, our message was simple no text is worth a life, said
Scott T. VanderSanden, president of AT&T Wisconsin. The same applies to other smartphone activities. We are
urging drivers, especially teens, to keep their eyes on the road and not on their phones.
Todays event featured AAAs distracted driving simulator, which allowed students to experience the dangers of
smartphone activities behind the wheel. Teens also watched a powerful documentary produced by AT&T called The
Last Text that shares real stories about lives altered or ended by someones decision to text and drive.
In December of 2015, Wisconsin marked the 5 year anniversary of its ban on texting while driving.
While texting and driving is illegal, too many drivers are now using their smartphones in other ways behind the wheel
that are just as dangerous, said State Rep. Gary Tauchen (R-Bonduel). Driving is privilege and an obligation, and we
all have the obligation to drive safely for the sake of other drivers and pedestrians. I urge all drivers, especially our
teens, to put their phones down when they are behind the wheel.
New research from AT&T shows 7 in 10 people engage in smartphone activities while driving. Texting and emailing
are still the most prevalent, but 4 in 10 drivers also tap into social media. Over 25 percent are on Facebook, 1 in 7 are
on Twitter, almost 3 in 10 surf the net, and surprisingly, 1 in 10 video chat.
If you text while driving, your hands are not on the steering wheel, your eyes are not on the road, and your attention is
not on the traffic and road conditions around you, said Wisconsin State Patrol Superintendent Stephen Fitzgerald.
Texting while driving will, without a doubt, increase your risk of causing a crash or failing to avoid one. You are putting
yourself, your passengers, and everyone else on the road in grave danger.
AT&T first launched the It Can Wait campaign in 2010 to educate the public about the dangers of texting while driving
and encourage people to take the pledge to not text and drive at www.ItCanWait.com.
The campaign has now expanded and turned into a national social movement with support from organizations all over
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 96 cities throughout Wisconsin, reaching over 37,700 high school students.
The It Can Wait campaign has inspired over 8 million pledges not to text and drive across the country. Visit
www.ItCanWait.com to learn more.
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) helps millions around the globe connect with leading entertainment, mobile, high speed Internet and voice services. Were the worlds largest
provider of pay TV. We have TV customers in the U.S. and 11 Latin American countries. We offer the best global coverage of any U.S. wireless provider*.
And we help businesses worldwide serve their customers better with our 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.
2016 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the Globe logo and other marks are trademarks and service marks of AT&T Intellectual Property
and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
*Global coverage claim based on offering discounted voice and data roaming; LTE roaming; voice roaming; and world-capable smartphone and tablets in more
countries than any other U.S. based carrier. International service required. Coverage not available in all areas. Coverage may vary per country and be
limited/restricted in some countries.

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Students at Bonduel High School Urged to Take Pledge to

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