Students at Kirkwood High School became the latest to join AT&T's nationwide push to stop texting and driving.
AT&T Missouri President John Sondag joined local lawmakers and around 1,800 students on Wednesday to discuss the ‘It Can Wait’ campaign and share a chilling video about the dangers of texting while driving. After viewing the video, students were asked to use their cell phone to take the no-texting-while-driving pledge.
"We just want to keep hammering home the dangers in that no text is that important that you should risk your life and the life of others to take it," Sondag said. It can wait, just wait until you are safe and you’re out of your car to look at that text to read it or even to send it."
Assistant principal Jeff Townsend said he hopes students who took the pledge will now go educate their peers on the dangers.
"When they hear stuff from kids or when they get tutored from kids or when a kids says ‘Hey, stop texting, I don’t feel comfortable in the car’ that’s more impactful than their principal telling them," he said. "So a lot of this is on them."
Kirkwood mayor Art McDonnell issued a proclamation declaring September 19 as ‘No Texting And Driving – It Can Wait’ day in Kirkwood. The Missouri House and Senate issues similar proclamations of support.
The National Safety Council Reports that more than 100,000 car accidents a year involve texting drivers.
The state of Missouri bans drivers under the age of 21 from texting. Beginning January 1, cell phones will be limited to hands-free operation only in the state of Illinois.
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