AT&T offers teen texting program

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PLEDGING — Students at Poland Regional High School sign a pledge to not text and drive.

POLAND — Officials from AT&T met with teens at Poland Regional High School recently to outreach educate teens about the dangers of texting while driving.

“Texting and driving is among the most dangerous forms of distracted driving,” said Owen Smith, AT&T’s Regional Vice President for Maine. “We are proud to be bringing this important message to teens that ‘It can wait’ when it comes to texting while driving.”

Poland Regional High School students heard from Smith about the dangers of texting and driving. The students also viewed a compelling 10-minute documentary called “The Last Text” that was produced by AT&T as part of the company’s “It Can Wait” campaign to educate people about the dangers of texting while driving.

Students were then invited to sign a pledge promising not to text and drive. Since AT&T launched the “It Can Wait” program in March of 2010, nearly 61,000 individuals – teens, parents, and more – have taken the pledge to not text and drive.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number one cause of death for teens in America is traffic crashes. This year alone in the U.S., there have been more than 425,000 crashes involving drivers using mobile phones and texting.