Peabody High Students Pledge to Not Text and Drive

AT&T and Essex DA Blodgett hosted an anti-texting presentation at Peabody High Monday morning to encourage students, teachers and parents alike to keep their attention fixed on the road while behind the wheel.
By John Castelluccio January 31, 2012

The message delivered to students loud and clear Monday morning was dont text and drive its just not worth it. In fact, the name of AT&Ts national campaign, which was presentation was part of, is appropriately labeled: It Can Wait. Representatives from AT&T and local officials formed a panel of speakers at Peabody Veterans Memorial High School Monday, as part of an anti-texting presentation by AT&T in collaboration with Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgetts office.

The panel had hundreds of students undivided attention for about 45 minutes with personal stories of distracted driving and the very real danger it presents. David Mancuso, AT&Ts Regional Vice President of External Affairs, asked the gathered teens to envision being on a field behind the wheel of a car and going from zero to 60 in about five seconds. And at the same time, trying to send a text message while keeping their eyes up to avoid family members and friends who were spread around that field. Mancuso said those conditions are not unlike most car accidents caused by a driver distracted by a text message, and it doesnt have to take five seconds, it can happen in just three seconds that your eyes glance down to your phone. It can wait; its not that important, Mancuso said. PVMHS Principal Ed Sapienza said that when it comes to texting and using a cell phone while driving, students should think about personal safety first ahead of all else. This is a little bit about selfishnessstudents looking out for themselves, Sapienza said. Blodgett pointed to the case now of a 17-year-old Haverhill male about to go on trial for motor vehicle homicide. He allegedly was texting when his car crossed over the centerline and hit another vehicle head-on, killing the driver. Blodgett also informed students that one of the first things the police and his office does in cases of serious car crashes is to get the drivers cell phone records to determine whether he or she was distracted by the phone. Its the single most determinant for [seeking] criminal charges or not, he said. Mayor Ted Bettencourt said he had a friend who did something similarly stupid and senseless while driving and was almost killed because of it.

Life is fragile, Bettencourt said. All of us are here to make sure you all know the dangers that are out therethese decisions are important. He added that for him, with three young daughters and a busy, demanding job, it can be tempting to want to multi-task at times and quickly fire off a text message, but he doesnt. Interim Superintendent Dr. Herb Levine said it doesnt take a cell phone to become distracted. Levine said when he was a superintendent in New Hampshire he narrowly avoided a serious car crash. He had reached down to change a cassette tape, only taking his eyes of the road for a few seconds, but thats all it took to rear-end the vehicle in front of him. It was a bad decision, Levine said. Most of us are lucky because we suffer little if any consequences. But thats not true for everyone Levine also noted that his son a Peabody High grad made another bad decision in high school with drugs and it took him years to resolve that. State Rep. Ted Speliotis shared a story of a friend who was involved in a fatal accident many years ago that left the man scarred to this day, although he escaped physical wounds. Speliotis said his friend was driving up Sylvan Street with his girlfriend in the passenger seat after having just picked up some donuts. He reached down for a donut, but accidentally hit the gas, launching the car into a tree. The driver was fine, but his passenger was killed in the crash. Criminal charges were never filed against the friend, according to Speliotis, but he was forever changed in the accident and still haunted by it. He told students that driving laws are much harsher today and the justice system may not be as lenient on younger drivers as it used to be. State Rep. Joyce Spiliotis said a man distracted by his cell phone

rear-ended her car and could have easily killed both her and her daughter along with the man. We make the laws, not to punish people, but to try and protect people, she said. U.S. Congressman John Tierney noted that many teens may not think twice about putting themselves in risky situations, so perhaps they should think of others first before texting while driving. Tierney asked students to think of their parents being told they died in a car crash or maybe theres a younger sibling in the backseat at the time. Even if you survive something like that, no fine, no prison sentenceis going to take away [the] pain, he said. Blodgett later told Peabody Patch the program isnt so much about scaring kids as it is showing them what could happen by taking their eyes off the road for those crucial seconds. A simple thing, such as tapping out the expression LOL can change your life forever, he said. Blodgett said he sees students behind the wheel tapping away at their tiny keypads every day as they drive to school while he heads down Lowell Street to Salem. He lives about two streets away from PVMHS. But many of those gathered Monday were willing to commit to textfree driving; students, the panelists, teachers and others lined up in the school auditorium to sign a pledge to that effect. A short documentary AT&T produced was also shown, which brings another personal perspective to the issue interviews with family members and friends who lost loved ones in a car accident due to the driver texting at the time. Each person spoke candidly, sharing his or her heartbreak at the tragedy, and at times guilt for being on the other end of that fateful text message. In one case, it was a senior, a day away from graduating, on her way

to a high school sports game when her car crossed the median and hit a concrete barrier. She was thrown from the car. Another case was a male teen driver who ran over a bicyclist. The underlying message of the documentary was clear both fatalities could have been avoided had the teens been paying attention to the road. You can find that video (it's about 11 minutes) on the campaigns website and YouTube; Sapienza said he would also put up a link on the school website for teachers to show to their classes. You can also check out AT&T's Facebook page for more information on the campaign. It Can Wait launched in March 2010 and today, has had more than 21,600 people pledge not to text and drive on Facebook alone. About 16,700 employees have also taken the pledge through an internal social media channel.!