Distracted driving continues to be a problem that plagues the United States. Texting while driving is shooting up the charts as far as what causes automobile accidents and fatalities every year despite the concerted effort of those in state legislature around the country. Outlawing the practice has been one way to curb the behavior, but getting people to pay attention to those laws and what happens if people don’t is still a tricky business. Virginia is one such state that is trying to make it illegal while sheding a spotlight on the problem and its effects.

Earlier this week, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell signed an official proclamation that highlighted September 19 as “No Text on Board Pledge Day” in his state. This move is part of a broader stroke by a huge number of state governments who are trying anything and everything to stomp out texting while driving.


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"It is important to recognize that in 2012 – so far – young adults ages 18 through 20 accounted for 16 percent of crashes involving a texting driver in Virginia," McDonnell said during the ceremony announcing the proclamation.

Adding,  "A driver that sends a text message not only jeopardizes his or her own safety, but also the safety of passengers, pedestrians and other drivers, and it is fitting to encourage our citizens – especially our youth – to recognize that crashes caused by sending or reading a text message are preventable."

State governments aren’t the only ones who are devoting their attention to the issue. AT&T (News - Alert) has taken part in a nationwide campaign called “It Can Wait.”  This program is a simple initiative attempting to show people the statistics about just how dangerous distracted driving and texting while driving can be.

 AT&T points people to the website www.itcanwait.com where people can take a no texting while driving pledge. They can then share that pledge through social media sites like Facebook (News - Alert) and Twitter in an attempt to get even more people aware and involved.

The newest statistics show that as many as 100,000 automobile accidents occur every year because one of the drivers was texting while driving.

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