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Though he appreciates his studies at Edward Bok High School, 1901 S. Ninth St., Ernest Graham learned Aug. 6 that out-of-school occasions can prove just as educational. While bicycling to his job at United Communities Southeast Philadelphia, 2029 S. Eighth St., he became a hit-and-run victim at 17th Street and Snyder Avenue, with the fleeing motorist being guilty of texting while driving.
“He clipped me, but what might have happened if I had been going at a different speed?” the resident of 20th and Tasker streets said. “Incidents like mine are why we are here today and what we are trying to avoid.”
Graham and 18 peers, gathered Aug. 15 as youth ambassadors for the It Can Wait Campaign, a three-year-old AT&T initiative, which has intensified its mission to remind drivers, especially teenagers, to forgo fidgeting with phones while on the road and courted the United Communities-based Southeast Philadelphia Collaborative members for means to quell catastrophes.
“That’s pretty telling,” Joe Divis, AT&T executive director for external affairs, said when an icebreaker activity revealed the youths have all seen people texting while driving, with half also knowing someone injured through the combination of the two. “We need you to be leaders in explaining the dangers.”
His employer devised the endeavor in 2009 and recently relaunched it to combat a series of distressing statistics. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute has determined text-happy drivers are 23 times more likely to be in a crash, and the National Safety Council estimates more than 800,000 texting-while-driving accidents have occurred this year. Though 39 states, including Pennsylvania, have banned texting while driving, AT&T, which landed the collaborative as a partner through searches for youth-oriented agencies, knew the need for intervention.
“So what we are saying is no text is worth risking someone’s life,” Divis said.
To drive home that point, he showed the adolescents, hailing from programs at, among others, the Houston Center, also 2029 S. Eighth St., and Sunrise of Philadelphia Inc., 1900 S. Eighth St., “The Last Text,” an 11-minute documentary detailing four collisions, including three fatal cases, with texting as the culprit. Somber expressions adorned the students’ faces, with a moment of silence at its conclusion.
“That was powerful,” Graham said, regaling his colleagues afterward with the tale of his encounter with an SUV.
As each video portion involved young people, Divis and AT&T sales director Jane Quinn-Schwartz capitalized on the content to help to convince their acquaintances to accept responsibility in rallying for more awareness of proper vehicular behavior.
“Many people think they’re good enough at texting to avoid damage,” Quinn-Schwartz said. “That’s pretty bold to believe.”
AT&T is looking to steer beginning motorists away from clutching anything but the wheel, with outreach to celebrities and appearances at concerts, including Tuesday’s “American Idol Live!” show at the Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St., which included a virtual reality simulator. Facebook and Twitter have led the social media cause, and YouTube has helped “The Last Text” to receive more than three million views. Efforts to supply American high schools with a toolkit of information have begun, and AT&T is offering a DriveMode application to its Android and BlackBerry users. The amenity blocks texting capabilities and provides senders an auto-reply message to signify someone is driving a car exceeding 25 mph.
“That is a great idea,” 1st District Councilman Mark Squilla, a resident of Front Street and Snyder Avenue, said. “When someone is driving, even one second of distraction can be so dangerous.”
The youngsters, many of whom have already piloted an automobile, expressed texting and driving have become inseparable among their contemporaries, and that declaration has made many reluctant to correct relatives and friends. However, the collaborative and AT&T united them to stress the severity of their loved ones’ actions.
“You have to be a constant advocate,” Divis said. “So, what do you think you can do?”
His audience mentioned organizing a possible protest, including news of the campaign in school announcements, distributing information at parties and playgrounds and relying on the often-overlooked method of starting conversations within their circles.
“We don’t have to rely on technology for everything,” Graham said.
He and the others voiced intentions to speak about the campaign, which runs through Sept. 19, with a total of 1,600 people. United Communities director of policy and external relationships Carys Davies and networking and communications director Cory Miller assigned each pupil the task of acquiring 25 “No Text on Board” pledges through att.com.
“If you can give one person the message each day, you will easily exceed your pledge goal,” Davies said.
Some participants still sounded hesitant but lost their inhibition when Quinn-Schwartz said their sociability will help.
“You have so many friends and thus you have the gift of youth and more influence than you might think,” she said.
The youngsters visited the website to vow never to text while driving. With Squilla applying his signature first, they also signed a banner stating their goal to exercise control over their phones while canvassing neighborhoods as drivers.
“We often use our instincts when driving and need full focus when we’re on the road,” Squilla, with plans to be a vocal supporter of the pledge, said.
Giveaways and a raffle capped the two-hour presentation, with discussions on when they would begin to promote the message occupying the youths as they read the aforementioned statistics. Graham will not need numbers to motivate him, though.
“I had a scary experience,” he said. “After getting over the shock, I realized this has to stop.”
He and the others will reunite Sept. 19 to gauge their success, with Divis and Miller expecting great results.
“Since so much of the campaign has a social media angle, the students easily relate,” Miller said. “They know what’s at stake.”
Visit itcanwait.org.
Contact Staff Writer Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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