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

Niagara and Goodman Students Urged to Take Pledge to Never Text and Drive at www.ItCanWait.com

Students Also Learn about #X, New Social Tool Geared Toward Helping Teens Stop Texting & Driving

AT&T, AAA, Wisconsin State Patrol Team Up to Highlight Dangers

NIAGARA, Wednesday, May 13, 2015 Nearly 250 students from Niagara Middle and High Schools and Goodman High School learned today about the dangers of texting while driving and were urged to take the pledge to never text behind the wheel at www.ItCanWait.com. Niagara and Goodman schools teamed up with AT&T, AAA, the Wisconsin State Patrol, and the Marinette County Sheriffs Office as part of the It Can Wait movement to remind students that text messages can and should wait until after driving. Too often, our young people think they are invincible, but they need to understand that texting while driving is extremely dangerous and can be deadly, said Niagara High School Principal Kipp Beaudoin. There is no text worth dying for. Thats why we are proud to join in this effort to educate our students about the dangers and urge them all to take the pledge to never text and drive. Todays assembly was part of a series of events being held at high schools across the state this school year by AT&T, AAA and the Wisconsin State Patrol to drive home the dangers of texting and driving and encourage teens to take the pledge. The three organizations have also partnered with the Marinette County Sheriffs Office to host events at Niagara, Crivitz, Marinette, and Peshtigo high schools on May 12 and May 13. During todays event, teens learned about #X a new social tool introduced as part of the It Can Wait

campaign that is geared toward helping teens stop texting and driving. The school was also presented with two permanent It Can Wait parking lot signs that remind students to never text and drive. Our It Can Wait campaign has always targeted teens, as they are not only our newest and most inexperienced drivers, but also the most prevalent texters, said Scott T. VanderSanden, president of AT&T Wisconsin. #X is simple, quick to enter and easily shareable, and we hope it will act as a digital rallying cry for teens and others to help end this deadly epidemic. #X is a tool that teens can use to pause a text or social conversation before beginning to drive. The symbol is a way for teens to quickly let their friends know that they are about to drive and wont be responding to texts or social media until they arrive safely at their destination.

Students were given the chance to experience the dangers of texting while driving in a safe setting through AAAs distracted driving simulator. They were also shown a powerful documentary produced by AT&T called The Last Text that shares real stories about lives ended by someones decision to text and drive. 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. The campaign has now turned into a national social movement with support from organizations all across the country, including the Wisconsin State Patrol and AAA. Since 2010, AT&T, AAA and the State Patrol have partnered together to hold events in 73 cities throughout Wisconsin, reaching over 30,700 high school students. While Wisconsin bans texting and driving, we know the dangerous practice is still happening far too often on our roads, said State Senator Tom Tiffany (R-Hazelhurst). Thats why the It Can Wait campaign is so critical to spreading the message about the dangers to our young people and encouraging them to take the pledge. The It Can Wait movement is making a difference, inspiring over 6.4 million pledges to never text and drive. One in three people who have seen the texting while driving message also say theyve changed their driving habits. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety recently completed a groundbreaking naturalistic study of teen crashes, which revealed that teens who were texting prior to a crash had taken their eyes off the road for an average of 4.1 out of the last six seconds before impact. A copy of AAAs sample driving agreement and other teen driving resources can be found at www.TeenDriving.AAA.com. The dangers of texting are greatest for teen drivers who cannot draw upon previous experience to manage unsafe situations, said Vicki Hanson, Regional President of AAA Wisconsin. We encourage parents to reinforce the It Can Wait campaign at home by implementing a parent-teen driving agreement. 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. For more information on the It Can Wait campaign, please visit: ItCanWait.com. About AT&T AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) helps millions of people and businesses around the globe stay connected through leading wireless, high-speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. Were helping people mobilize their worlds with state-of-the-art communications, entertainment services and amazing innovations like connected cars and devices for homes, offices and points in between. Our U.S. wireless network offers customers the nations strongest LTE signal and the nations most reliable 4G LTE network. We offer the best global wireless coverage. Were improving how our customers stay entertained and informed with AT&T U-verse TV and High Speed Internet services. And businesses worldwide are serving their customers better with AT&Ts mobility and highly secure cloud solutions. Additional information about AT&T products and services is available at http://about.att.com. Follow our news on Twitter at @ATT, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/att and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/att.

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