Confession: I have texted while driving. Have you? (YES, texting at a red light counts!)

If you have, consider this sobering fact: more than 100,000 crashes a year involve drivers who are texting.

Wanna know something that’s even more alarming? Nearly half of all adult commuters and 43% of teens admit to texting while driving (TWD). And, as the highest consumers of smartphones, Asian-Americans are at an increased risk to the dangers of texting while driving. (But don’t think that just because you’re not Asian, you can get away with it!)

This needs to stop. NOW.

AT&T’s It Can Wait campaign seeks to do exactly that by asking drivers to take a pledge to never text and drive.

When AT&T contacted me about promoting the It Can Wait campaign on my blog, the timing couldn’t have been more uncanny. Because earlier this week, within walking distance from our home, an 8-month-old girl was killed by a falling lamppost. The reason for this terrible tragedy? A bus driver was using his cell phone while driving and crashed into the lamppost, causing it to fall onto the baby’s stroller. 😥

It’s scary to think that this could have been one of my girls (we go for walks on that promenade almost every day).

It’s even scarier to think that I could have caused an accident like that.

We need to remember the serious effects TWD can have on our families, friends, and even strangers on the road. We also need to set a good example for the children and teenagers in our lives. Like It Can Wait states, no text with worth the risk. It can wait.

To help get the word out about this life-saving campaign, AT&T has generously offered to give one of my readers an It Can Wait gift package, which includes a t-shirt, a magnet, a tote bag, and a BlackBerry® Q10!

It goes without saying that this phone should NOT be used while driving.

The Q10 is the latest offering from BlackBerry®, and it is considered by many to be the best QWERTY phone currently on the market. The phone retails for $584.99 without a contract — and the winner of this giveaway will get it for FREE! (The winner will, however, be responsible for activating the phone and paying for service.)

To enter this giveaway, you must first visit the It Can Wait website and take the pledge to never text and drive. Please share your pledge with your friends and spread the word about the dangers of texting while driving.

Once you have done so, please use the Rafflecopter widget below, leaving a comment confirming that you took the pledge.

Not sure how to use Rafflecopter? Watch this 52 second video for a tutorial on how to enter a giveaway using Rafflecopter. There are 4 methods of entry, with the first method (commenting on this blog post confirming that you took the “It Can Wait” pledge) being mandatory while the third method (Tweeting about the giveaway) can be used once per day:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway will end on Saturday, August 10th, 2013, at 12:01am EST, at which point a winner will be randomly chosen and announced here.

Sorry, this giveaway is open only to residents of the U.S. who are over 13 years old.

Please use a valid email address and/or Twitter handle so that I can contact you if you win! If the winner fails to respond within 48 hours of my contacting them, another winner will be selected.

Good luck, and thank you for entering! And please remember…no text is worth the risk!

Disclaimer:
In compliance with FTC guidelines, please be aware that AT&T has provided me my own “It Can Wait” gift package for promoting this campaign.