Is It Worth Your Life

As the Public Service Announcement broadcasted, millions of viewers watched a grieving sister who held up a sign saying, “R U...” That was the last text message she sent to her younger sister, Ashley.  Instead of waiting until she arrived at her destination safely, Ashley made a choice to read the incoming message while driving. At the “R U…”, Ashley’s car ran off the road.  She was killed upon impact.

Tragedies, such as Ashley’s, prompted AT&T to launch a national Public Service Announcement (PSA) campaign titled, It Can Wait as a pledge to save lives.  Found on online, or posted on social networking pages, this oath can be taken as a commitment  not to text, talk or focus on the phone while driving.

According to AT&T, people who text while driving, are 23 times more likely to be involved in, or cause a crash.  Michael Headen, a business management major at Holy Family University, felt the effects of texting while driving.  He was run off the road by a young driver on the phone who ran through a red light.  “I refuse to text and drive because I know that no text message or phone call is worth my life. Knowing that I could injure myself, or end someone else’s life, just because of a message, would make it hard for me to look at myself in the mirror,” said Headen, who advocates against texting while driving.  “Summer months, due to the absence of school days and newly vacationing families, are the most dangerous months of the year,” a quote stated on the AT&T website. Some states have now banned texting and talking while driving with laws.  In NJ the laws fall under the same category as drunk driving.

According to the Governors Highway Safety Administration, 10 states banned talking while driving, and 39 states banned texting while driving.  Neglecting these laws will result in a fine. “Although I know it’s wrong, we are so consumed with our everyday life that we feel as if we don’t access to our cell phones while driving, we’re missing something,” said Immaculata University senior Allison Zbrowski. Zbrowski admitted that, while the possibility of an accident does scare her, putting down the phone is difficult because cell phones serve multiple functions.

Cell phone companies have made putting the phone down an oxymoron.  Phones are now "smart" and used not only for communicating but also to find a direction to a destination or to get the latest sports scores or to play a game with a friend 1000 miles away.  AT&T launched an experiment using simulated texting drivers.  Drivers were asked to respond to a flashing light while texting.  A majority of the participants never noticed the flashing light because they were consumed by texting.  “When I text and drive, I notice what’s right in front of me. Anything else is usually out of my view,” said Brittney Wilson, a senior psychology student from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  Texting and driving is familiar to Wilson, who admitted she caused a fender bender while on her phone a year ago.

“In 2010, texting while driving increased 50 percent in one year, and two out of 10 drivers say they've sent text messages or emails while behind the wheel, despite a rush by states to ban the practice,” noted in a statement released by AT&T at the beginning of their campaign.  By the end of 2012, AT&T will have been to more than 200 cities convincing drivers, especially young drivers, It Can Wait.  AT&T’s campaign is determined to reach everyone in their outreach.  Aside from touring, they have released multiple PSA showing the effects of texting while driving. All of these tragedies could have been prevented by doing one thing.  Take the pledge and put the phone down. IT CAN WAIT!
Written by Porsha Haynes, Senior, Holy Family University