This is a sponsored post brought to you by AT&T – It Can Wait and Distracted Driving
Our daughter waited anxiously until she turned 13 to be able to sit in the front seat of the car. She had been asking to sit in the front seat ever since she became a tween. But for safety purposes, I learned that kids under 13 should remain in the back seat of the car. And so after her 13th birthday, she happily took her place in the passenger seat next to me (leaving her two younger sisters behind in the back seat.)
For the most part, I love having her in the front seat next to me. And I only have concerns about a few things, like why won’t she keep her hands off of my radio. Now that she is sitting in the front seat, I can’t listen to my favorite songs. Or worse than that, she turns the station while I am singing a song I like. When a song gets me to the point where I am singing out loud, I am really feeling it. And that’s exactly when she decides to take her skinny little fingers and change the station.
But on a more serious note, I am also concerned about her safety. Even though she is 13, is it still safe for her to sit in the front seat. Will the airbag hurt her if it deploys. Or worse than that, will any of my actions harm her?
She is sitting in that seat and she is watching me. She sees if I am speeding and she watches to see if I am distracted by the cellphone or with her siblings in the back seat. Now, more than ever, I need to make sure that I am setting a proper example for my daughter to follow. Because in 3 short years, she will be behind the wheel and she could be emulating my bad driving habits or my good driving habits. I’d prefer the latter.
As a part of their It Can Wait campaign, AT&T just released a very sobering survey about Smartphone use while driving to help drive awareness of the dangers of smartphone use behind the wheel, and to encourage life-saving behavior change.
“When we launched It Can Wait five years ago, we pleaded with people to realize that no text is worth a life,” said Lori Lee, AT&T’s global marketing officer. “The same applies to other smartphone activities that people are doing while driving. For the sake of you and those around you, please keep your eyes on the road, not on your phone.”
According to the survey, Smartphone activities people say they do while driving include:
- Text (61%)
- Email (33%)
- Surf the net (28%)
- Facebook (27%)
- Snap a selfie/photo (17%)
- Twitter (14%)
- Instagram (14%)
- Shoot a video (12%)
- Snapchat (11%)
- Video chat (10%)
Other unsettling findings include:
- 62% keep their smartphones within easy reach while driving.4
- 30% of people who post to Twitter while driving do it “all the time.”
- 22% who access social networks while driving cite addiction as a reason.
- Of those who shoot videos behind the wheel, 27% think they can do it safely while driving.
(Research commissioned by AT&T and conducted by Braun Research. Polled 2,067 people in the U.S. aged 16-65 who use their smartphone and drive at least once a day. Additional information available here.)
Wow, what’s so important on those phones that we are willing to risk the lives of our loved ones and others to see? When I read the survey, it reminded me to get more serious about eliminating my smartphone use while I am driving. My biggest culprits are texts and emails. No text or email is worth a life!
In order to spread the word and raise awareness of the dangers of smartphone use behind the wheel, I’ve partnered with AT&T to bring you this awesome giveaway. And each time you enter to win and share this giveaway on social media, you are not only increasing your odds of winning, but you are also helping to spread the word.
Prize Description:
One lucky winner will win an It Can Wait Swag Bag (valued at $1000.) The contents of the bag will include:
- A Samsung Galaxy S6,
- a phone case,
- a Beats by Dre Pill,
- a selfie stick,
- ICW stickers,
- a tee and thumb rings.
- This will all come in a fun tote.
How to Enter:
Follow the instructions below. There is one mandatory step to enter. All others are optional and give you additional chances to win. Please be sure to read the terms and conditions as this giveaway is for US residents only that are 18 years or older.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This post is brought to you by AT&T. I have partnered with them to spread the word about It Can Wait and Distracted Driving . All opinions are my own.