1. For more information, contact:
Sarah Briggs, Public Affairs Holly Hollingsworth, Media Relations
Office: 614-223-7641 Office: 614-223-5711
E-mail: sarah.briggs@att.com E-mail: holly.hollingsworth@att.com
AT&T CHALLENGES LOCAL TEENS TO JOIN
“IT CAN WAIT” MOVEMENT TO HALT TEXTING WHILE DRIVING
AT&T Simulator Event at Normandy High School Encourages Students and
Faculty to Pledge Not to Text and Drive
CLEVELAND, OH, March 12, 2013 — Representatives from Normandy High School joined
AT&T, Parma Mayor Tim DeGeeter, State Representative Nick Celebrezze, and the Ohio State
Highway Patrol today to address a dangerous practice that puts millions of Americans at risk:
texting while driving.
To drive home the message and make our roads and highways safer, AT&T brought a
simulator, allowing students and faculty to experience firsthand the dangers of texting and
driving. The students also heard from the organizations regarding Ohio’s texting ban, House Bill
99, which passed the Ohio General Assembly last year and went into effect in the fall. House
Bill 99 also contained a 6 month grace period which ended on March 1st.
“Texting and driving is a perilous mix. It endangers your own life and the lives of people you’ve
never even met,” said State Rep. Nick Celebrezze. “I’m proud to join AT&T’s effort to remind
drivers, especially our teenagers, of the potentially deadly consequences of texting while driving
and the fact that this dangerous practice is now illegal across Ohio.”
“More than 100,000 times each year, an automobile crashes and people are injured or die while
a driver was texting and driving,” said Parma Mayor Tim DeGeeter, citing a statistic from the
National Safety Council1. “In Parma we continue to educate all drivers about Ohio’s texting ban,
and this event at Normandy High School is yet another opportunity to get the message out that
when it comes to texting while driving, It Can Wait.”
“Our goal is to save lives,” AT&T External Affairs Director Kevin Lynch said. “AT&T applauds the
efforts of the Ohio General Assembly – as well as Governor Kasich – on their efforts to pass
and sign into law House Bill 99, the statewide texting while driving ban, which took effect last
fall.”

2. In 2012, 165 organizations, including national nonprofits, commercial businesses, law
enforcement, professional associations and government agencies, as well as many educators,
legislators, and other supporters, helped get out the message and encouraged people to make
a personal pledge not to text and drive. This combined effort, including those of the Federal
Communications Commission, the U.S. Department of Transportation, National Organizations
for Youth Safety, SADD, Big Brothers Big Sisters, RadioShack and CTIA-The Wireless
Association, made a difference. Major highlights include:
Awareness of the It Can Wait message increased 26 percent during the key campaign
period.1
One-in-three people in that period said that texting while driving messages have an
impact on their driving habits.1
More than 1.2 million no-texting-while-driving pledges were made at ItCanWait.com and
through Facebook, Twitter, live events and text-to-pledge initiatives.
“Distracted driving is an epidemic on our roadways, and we need people all across Ohio to take
action in their communities to help put a stop to it," said Colonel John Born, Ohio State Highway
Patrol superintendent.
In 2013, AT&T is extending its work with existing It Can Wait collaborators and significantly
expanding their ranks. Plans include:
Working with device makers to pre-load no-texting-while-driving technologies and
solutions into handsets, with the goal of making these solutions standard on all AT&T
smartphones.
Engaging cities such as Houston, Texas, and companies including USAA and Walmart
to discuss potential new It Can Wait collaborations.
Making resources – ranging from It Can Wait branded materials, to teaching aids and
sample company policies – available to other organizations for programs they develop.
Launching a year-round texting-while-driving simulator tour targeting more than 380
events nationwide.
AT&T, its 240,000 employees and other supporters are calling on all drivers to go to
www.ItCanWait.com to take the no-texting-while-driving pledge, and then share their promise
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3. with others via Twitter (#itcanwait) and Facebook. The pledge is part of the public awareness
campaign aimed directly at stopping the dangerous practice of texting while driving.
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AT&T TWD - ICW Perceptions Study
*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the
AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.
Web Site Links: Related Media Kits:
AT&T News Dangers of Text Messaging and Driving
AT&T It Can Wait
AT&T Facebook
AT&T Puede Esperar
Related Releases: Related Fact Sheets:
AT&T Calls on Nation's Drivers to Pledge: Never AT&T Teen Driver Survey - Executive Summary
Text and Drive AT&T Teen Driver Survey - Minority Findings
Parents Can Rule, Kids Can be Cruel, New Infographic: The Dangers of Texting While Driving
Mobile Phone Study Reveals
Fact Sheet: AT&T's "It Can Wait" Campaign
43% of Teens Say they Text & Drive; 77% Say
Video: Texting While Driving Simulator
Adults Warn Against Risks; but Text & Drive 'All
the Time' Video: AT&T Don't Text While Driving Documentary
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