AT&T’s ‘It Can Wait’ simulator hits boardwalk

Virtual tour shows dangers of using smartphone while driving

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AT&T collaborated with the City of Long Beach, City Council and the Long Beach Police Department last weekend to discourage drivers from using their smartphones while behind the wheel, as part of its “It Can Wait” campaign.

Boardwalk dwellers at Long Beach Boulevard put on glasses and a headset to experience the virtual reality simulator, which put the residents in the perspective of a driver using a phone, nearly missing pedestrians and ultimately getting into a major collision.

“It just kind of showed you how looking down for just a minute, you could potentially be in an accident,” said City Council Vice President Anthony Eramo. “There was a family with a stroller, there were bicycles and the with the 3-D effect, I jumped a couple times because it actually looked like I was going to hit people.”


The National Safety Council estimated that talking and texting on the phone while driving resulted in more than 1.4 million crashes — about 26 percent of all accidents — in 2013, but concluded that cell phone use as a factor of crashes is under-reported.

Research from AT&T shows that seven out of every 10 people engage in smartphone activities while driving, with texting and emailing occurring most often. The data found that nearly four of 10 smartphone users tap into social media while behind the wheel, three of 10 surf the Internet and one of 10 actually video chat.

The nationwide virtual reality tour’s stop in Long Beach comes a couple weeks after the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles and the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee released a statement urging drivers to stop taking selfies behind the wheel, as a new report by the Auto Insurance Center ranked New York eighth among states for drivers posting pictures of themselves. A few weeks prior, the organizations warned drivers against playing the popular Pokemon Go game on the road. New York is among 14 states to prohibit drivers from using handheld electronic devices while driving.

Eramo said he is “nervous” as a parent with a 14-year-old daughter who will soon be behind the wheel, but thinks the simulator is helping articulate the message of safer driving.

“I hope that a lot of teenagers and new drivers participate in the “It Can Wait” program because it was very eye-opening how minor seconds can really be the difference,” Eramo said. “You see it all the time on the road, but to be simulated in an accident I think was pretty effective and I commend AT&T for it.”

A video of the simulation can be viewed here.