For more information, contact: Jessica Erickson, AT&T Wisconsin 608-282-7870 (work) 608-692-5340 (cell) jessica.erickson@att.

com

Governor Proclaims September Dont Text & Drive Awareness Month

Wisconsin State Patrol, AT&T and AAA Teaming Up on Series of High School Events to Highlight Dangers of Texting & Driving
MADISON, WI, Tuesday, September 3, 2013 As students head back to school, Governor Scott Walker has proclaimed September as Dont Text & Drive: It Can Wait Awareness Month throughout Wisconsin and is urging all residents, particularly teens, to never text behind the wheel. Texting has become the way many people communicate today, which means some people are doing it at the worst possible time while driving, said Wisconsin State Patrol Superintendent Stephen Fitzgerald. While Wisconsin bans texting and driving, we must continue to raise awareness about the deadly consequences of this practice and urge all drivers to never text and drive. The Wisconsin State Patrol, AT&T and AAA also announced today that they are teaming up once again on a series of high school events around the state to drive home the dangers of texting and driving. Assemblies are currently scheduled for September 19 at La Crosse Logan High School and Waukesha South High School, with events being planned throughout the school year in cities across Wisconsin. Since 2010, AT&T, AAA and the State Patrol have partnered together to hold events in 25 cities throughout the Wisconsin, reaching over 16,500 high school students. Studies show teens continue to text and drive, even though they know its dangerous and against the law, said Scott T. VanderSanden, president of AT&T Wisconsin. We are proud to partner with the State Patrol and AAA to raise awareness about the dangers and challenge all drivers to take the pledge to never text behind the wheel. AT&T is urging all Americans to pledge to stop texting and driving, and to join with others on September 19 -Drive 4 Pledges Day to make a lifelong commitment to never do so again. The company is calling on all drivers to go to www.ItCanWait.com to take the no-texting-and-driving pledge and then share their promise with others via Twitter (#ItCanWait) and Facebook. AT&T first launched the It Can Wait campaign in 2009 to educate the public about the dangers of texting while driving and encourage consumers to take the pledge to not text and drive at www.ItCanWait.com. More than 2 million pledges have been made to never text and drive. The campaign has now turned into a national movement with support from organizations all across the country, including the Wisconsin State Patrol and AAA.

In August, the It Can Wait movement released a new documentary directed by acclaimed filmmaker Werner Herzog called From One Second to the Next that shows the aftermath of texting and driving. The film features the Wisconsin story of Xzavier Davis Bilbo, a Milwaukee boy who is paralyzed from the diaphragm down after he was hit by a texting driver as he was crossing the street. The documentary is being distributed to nearly 40,000 high schools across the country, including in Wisconsin, along with hundreds of government and safety organizations. Texting is one of the most dangerous activities a driver can do behind the wheel. Those who send text messages while driving are 23 times more likely to be in a crash. Texting while driving also causes more than 100,000 car 1 crashes on American roadways each year, according to the National Safety Council . Teens are particularly at risk. While 97% of teens say they know texting while driving is dangerous, 75% say the 2 practice is common among their friends, according to an AT&T survey . Wisconsins law, effective as of December 1, 2010, prohibits sending an e -mail or text message while driving and imposes a fine of up to $400. As a primary enforcement law, officers may stop and ticket drivers solely for texting and driving. Wisconsin is among 41 states and the District of Columbia that ban text messaging by all drivers. The events at Wisconsin high schools will feature the AT&T documentary and AAAs distracted driving simulator. AAA has long been warning the public of the dangers of distracted driving, said AAA Wisconsin Regional President Tom Frymark. By partnering with educators, the State Patrol and AT&T, we hope to get the message across to even more Wisconsin drivers that texting and driving is a dangerous mix. For more information on AAAs national initiative to ban texting and driving in every state , please visit www.TeenDriving.AAA.com. For more information on the It Can Wait campaign, please visit: ItCanWait.com.
*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc
1 2

National Safety Council www.nsc.org Survey conducted by Beck Research on behalf of AT&T http://www.att.com/Common/about_us/txting_driving/att_teen_survey_executive.pdf.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates AT&T operating companies are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and internationally. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nations largest 4G network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi -Fi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in mobile Internet, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide of any U.S. carrier, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse and AT&T |DIRECTV brands. The companys suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com/aboutus or follow our news on @ATT, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/att and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/att.

2013 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. 4G not available everywhere. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies.