Students Sign Pledge to Not Text and Drive | Video

Kristin Clouston | 9/19/2012

Experts say one text message in the car takes your eyes off the road for five seconds. At 55 miles per hour, that`s the length of a football field. In light of such sobering statistics, students at a Bismarck school took a pledge today, saying they won`t text and drive.

Sure, they`re laughing and having a good time, but teens who drove this obstacle course while texting say it wasn`t easy.

"You`ve got people throwing stuffed animals at you. You`ve got a tiny course and there`s like stuffed animals everywhere you`re trying to send a message out at the same time," said sophomore Kaelie Schumacher.

The message is simple: texting and driving don`t mix.

"It was pretty difficult it was hard to focus on the road while trying to text. Probably less than half. I don`t think a lot of people, a lot of people still text and drive even though it`s illegal now," said sophomore Danielle Ballie.

"It`s a bad habit. A lot of people think that it`s pretty safe and it`s okay to do it," said senior Jacob Sommerfeld.

It`s a habit the North Dakota Safety Council and AT&T are trying to get kids to break. As part of "No Texting and Driving Day." Students at Century High School signed a pledge not to text and drive.

But is it a pledge they`re really going to honor?

"Not a lot really. It`s impulses, it`s all friends, so it might not work. You want to stay in touch," Schumacher said.

"Probably less than half. I don`t think a lot of people, a lot of people still text and drive even though it`s illegal now," Ballie said.

"It`s not a guarantee that they do. Even if they don`t, we think a small percentage of them will sign it and it will potentially change one person`s life somewhere down the road," Sommerfeld said.

One hundred thousand people die each year as a result of texting and driving, if you`re ready to take the pledge log on to www.itcanwait.org.

The website is also a source for parents and teens wanting more information, statistics and to learn people`s personal stories.

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