Minnesota Safety Council Urges Drivers to Take No-Texting Pledge

ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Minnesota Safety Council urges drivers to join in a national effort to combat distracted driving on Friday, September 19, part of the It Can Wait campaign. Drivers can participate in a "day of action" by taking an online pledge never to text and drive, and can find free resources to help spread the word to their families, friends and communities at ItCanWait.com. In support of the effort to raise awareness of the dangers of texting and driving, Governor Dayton has proclaimed September as "Don't Text and Drive Awareness Month."

The national campaign, spearheaded by AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile US Inc. and Verizon will provide "It Can Wait" content for social media users, print resources and suggested activities through the ItCanWait.com website. Nearly 2,000 events will be held across the nation on and around September 19, including pledge competitions at 16 high schools across Minnesota and activities at the University of Minnesota Gopher football game in Minneapolis on September 20.

"Texting while driving is illegal in Minnesota, but many drivers continue to put themselves and others at risk with this behavior," said Paul Aasen, President of the Minnesota Safety Council. "Driving is a responsibility. Take the pledge and put down the phone when you are behind the wheel — no text is worth it."

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) reports that each year in Minnesota, distracted or inattentive driving is recorded as a factor in one in four crashes, resulting in at least 70 deaths and 350 serious injuries. OTS believes these numbers are greatly underreported due to the challenge for law enforcement in determining distraction as a crash factor.

The Minnesota Safety Council, founded in 1928, is a non-governmental, not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in Minnesota by preventing unintentional injuries and deaths.

SOURCE Minnesota Safety Council

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