Mepham hosts ‘It Can Wait’ program

In recognition of National Teen Driver Safety Week, Mepham High School officials recently teamed up with Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice to host AT&T’s “It Can Wait” assembly -- an anti-texting-while-driving program.

The seminar, held on Oct. 24 at the school, was organized by the Bellmore-Merrick Community Parent Center. Students heard from Rice, who was elected to Congress a little over a week later, AT&T Regional Director of External Affairs Brandon Ray, as well as Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District officials.

“Teens must learn to ‘park their phone before they start their car,’” said Wendy Tepfer, the Community Parent Center’s executive director. “Put it out of reach and out of sight. Remember –– no one is that important.”

Rice shared sobering statistics. For instance, she said, texting while driving is the equivalent to driving for five seconds with your eyes closed.

Ray presented a documentary about the dangers of texting while driving. In “The Last Text,” four groups of people who were personally devastated by a car accident caused by texting and driving shared their stories. Those impacted held up cards with the texts in question.

After the documentary, students took turns in AT&T’s It Can Wait Texting and Driving Simulator. While sitting in a car seat, the teens used a steering wheel and pedals to navigate a city-like driving course. They had to obey all traffic laws –– while texting with a smartphone attached to the simulator.

Some students drove too slowly or drifted into the oncoming lane and were pulled over by police. Others crashed their vehicles into cars or onto the curb.

Students also signed a pledge board promising not to text and drive. And they could take the pledge online and share it with their friends on Facebook and Twitter.