Say Yes to the Prom, No to Distracted Driving

by | May 1, 2018 | Distracted driving

May is Global Youth Traffic Safety Month ATTICanWait

Prom season is here, and that means many teens will be driving on that special night. And of course, most will have a smartphone in hand to capture the memories. But AT&T wants to remind young drivers during this, Global Youth Traffic Safety Month, to keep their eyes on the road, not on their phones while driving.

To help keep those prom memories happy ones, AT&T is offering these tips:

  • Take the pledge to NEVER drive distracted at www.itcanwait.com, and get your friends to do the same. AT&T research shows pledging matters and makes a difference. According to the findings of a 2016 survey, almost half of people who pledged said they now don’t use their smartphones while driving. Those who share their promise or pledge with others are even more likely to stop, and more likely to speak up to others.
  • Use #TagYourHalf on social media to pressure your friends to never drive distracted. New AT&T research shows 57% of drivers would stop using their phones behind the wheel if pressured by a friend. The #TagYourHalf social media campaign encourages you to tag your better half, your BFF – the one person you can’t live without – encouraging them to stop driving distracted. Also, a teen survey conducted by AT&T also revealed 90% of teens say they would stop texting while driving if a friend in the car asked them to.
  • Download a free app, like DriveMode, to help curb the urge to text and drive. AT&T DriveMode is available to customers of all wireless carriers for iPhone and Android users. It can silence incoming alerts and phone calls so you stay focused while driving. Its auto mode feature automatically turns on the app when you reach 15 MPH and turns it off after you stop. The app can automatically respond to texts on your behalf letting the person know you’re behind the wheel and will get back with them when you reach your destination.

According to new research just released by AT&T:1

  • Nearly 9-in-10 people admit to using their smartphone while driving.
  • Nearly 4-in-10 drivers call distracted driving a habit.
  • Nearly a quarter of people don’t see it as a major problem.
  • Tens of thousands of people are injured – and hundreds die – every year due to smartphone distracted driving. 2
  • Smartphone activities people say they do while driving include:
  • Research shows taking an action and speaking up can help reduce distracted driving.

     Pledge to never drive distracted at ItCanWait.com:

  • 7-in-10 drivers who have pledged are keeping their commitment to not use their smartphones behind the wheel.

 Speak Up:

  • 57% of people are more likely to stop driving distracted if a friend or passenger pressures them to.
  • That means half of people are just waiting for someone to tell them to stop! So #TagYourHalf, your better half, your BFF, the one person you can’t live without, encouraging them to stop driving distracted.

AT&T also launched new It Can Wait ads in April to reach more people with the campaign’s key message: distracted driving is never OK. The spots are titled “The Face of Distracted Driving”, and they drive home the powerful message that no distraction is worth a future. If teenagers Caleb Sorohan and Forrest Cepeda were alive today, they might be pursuing their dream jobs or teaching their kids to play sports. Maybe they’d still be figuring life out. But we’ll never know – smartphone distracted driving cut their lives short.

Award-winning filmmaker Errol Morris captured Caleb’s and Forrest’s heartbreaking stories through in-depth interviews with their families. In these short film productions, you’ll hear their siblings tell how special their lives were. You’ll see their mothers’ pain as they remember their loss. And through the collaboration of forensic artists and a visual effects team, you’ll even get a glimpse at what they would’ve looked like today.

Here are links to the full-length spots, as well as :30 second clips. Over the next few weeks, you’ll see these spots in different places – like at the movies, on social channels and through online video.

In the 8 years since its inception, It Can Wait has made an impact that AT&T aims to extend moving forward.

  • Nearly all of those surveyed consider smartphone distracted driving to be dangerous.1
  • And the It Can Wait pledge campaign has inspired more than 23 million personal commitments to never drive distracted – many among friends and family who pledged to keep each other accountable.
  • The free AT&T DriveMode® app that can silence incoming text messages when you’re driving and automatically send a customizable auto-reply message has reached more than 20 million downloads.

1 Online survey with 7,505 respondents (total distracted drivers n=6,438) conducted by Kantar Added Value. Ongoing survey, data represented here were collected January 2017- December 2017. National panel sample (ages 15-54, drive, and have a smartphone).