Admit it! You’ve texted and socialized while driving, and you’ll probably do it again even if others tell you it’s wrong. Thing is, we rarely stop doing certain things unless something really bad happens. AT&T and Twitter don’t want drivers to find this out the hard way, so they’ve teamed up to create awareness through a campaign called #ItCanWait.

A study conducted by Braun Research has revealed that a whopping 70% of drivers keep their eyes peeled to their smartphone screens behind the wheel.

As its name implies, the campaign strives to convince 7-out-of-10 recless drivers that texting, talking on the phone, taking selfies, or socializing on Facebook and Instagram is something that can wait until after reaching the destination.

Photo by Jessica Furtney on Unsplash

Some raw numbers

These are some of the smartphone activities people say they do while driving (complete with the actual number of people carrying out these activities): texting (61%); email (33%); surfing the web (28%); socializing on Facebook (27%); taking selfies behind the wheel (17%); Tweeting (14%); Instagram (14%); shooting a video (12%); Snapchat (11%); video chatting on Skype, FaceTime, etc. (10%).

Furthermore, 62% say they keep their smartphones within arm’s length to be sure they don’t miss any updates or calls, while 30% of those who post to Twitter while driving say they do it “all the time.” As many as 22% admitted to being addicted to social networks, citing this as the reason for pawing their phones while driving, and of those who shoot videos in the driver’s seat say “they do it safely.” Hence, the need of such a campaign.

The american wireless operator says it will collaborate with social platforms to share the message, and promises to launch a virtual reality tour this summer to prove that it’s not possible to use your smartphone and drive safely at the same time.

The reality is some things really can’t wait. So when you do need to make that urgent call or reply to an email from your CEO, just pull over. Because, if you want to take care of any future business, first of all  you need to be alive.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/zObH6BKeTnE[/youtube]