AT&T is stepping up
to plate again to campaign against texting and driving. As I have written here
in the past, AT&T has launched campaigns before on this issue, but this
time they are being joined by other major carriers such as Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile US, Inc. and more than 200
other organizations. As ABC News in Chicago reported this week, the new
campaign is titled “It Can Wait.” The new national advertising campaign, a nationwide
texting-while-driving simulator tour, retail presence in tens of thousands of
stores, and outreach to millions of consumers with a special focus throughout
the summer months between Memorial Day and Labor Day-known as the 100 Deadliest
Days on the roads for teen drivers.1 The 2013 campaign drive will culminate on
Sept. 19, when efforts turn towards encouraging everyone to get out in their
community and advocate involvement on behalf of the movement.
The
campaign kicks off May 20, with AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile bringing
a multi-million dollar, co-branded advertising campaign to raise awareness of
the dangers of texting and driving, and encouraging everyone to immediately
take the pledge against it at www.itcanwait.com www.itcanwait.com. The
campaign will focus on the stories of people who are living with the
consequences of texting while driving. Their stories will be told through
various media including TV, radio, digital and social. The first story in the
campaign will be of Xzavier Davis-Bilbo, who in 2010 at five-years-old, was
struck while crossing the street by a young woman texting while driving-leaving
him paralyzed from the waist down.
Also,
government agencies including the U.S. Department of Transportation, National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration and National Transportation Safety Board
have all committed to help end distracted driving and support the efforts of It
Can Wait and others who are working to raise awareness.
This is
the first time that all the cell phone carriers have joined together and
focused on this issue with one major advertising campaign. I think they need to
applauded as we all know texting and driving is a major issue in this country.
But, I will state again, the danger of texting and driving will not go away
until stricter laws are enacted by individual states. Specifically, there need
to be higher fines when someone is caught texting and driving. If someone is
injured in a car accident where it can shown that texting and driving was the
cause, then there needs to be the threat of jail time. In other words, the
charge needs to be raised to a misdemeanor (Class A in Illinois), similar to a
DUI.
If you
or someone you love has been involved in a Chicago car crash or Chicago truck accident, then call Chicago personal injury attorney Aaron Bryant for a free legal consultation at 312-588-3384.