Kelsey Bagrowski

Krista Jackman
September 20, 2012
Eng401.zz1
Analysis Essay
Texting and Driving It Can Wait: An Analysis
Texting while driving is quickly becoming the principal distraction in driver distracted
related accidents. A study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) found that 80 percent of crashes
are caused by some form of driver distraction occurring within three seconds before the vehicle
crash (Distracted Driving Facts). Over the past few years, thirty-nine states have banned
texting while driving, yet many people still choose to text and drive. Those who do not abide by
this law are subject to punishment and hefty fines if they are caught. However, even that has not
stopped most people from committing this dangerous act. Now the media is stepping in to try
and encourage people to put down their phones, before its too late. AT&Ts, Texting and
Driving It Can Wait, commercial is influential because it uses ethos, pathos, and logos to
persuade its viewers to not text while driving to reduce the risk of an accident.
Distracted driving is defined as any activity that could divert a person's attention away
from the primary task of driving. Distractions could include eating and drinking, reading
directions, talking to passengers and most of all texting while driving. Texting requires visual,
manual, and cognitive attention so it is by far the greatest distraction. Approximately 11% of
fatal crashes due to distracted driving involved drivers under the age of twenty (Genachowski
p3). This age group currently has the largest proportion of distracted drivers. According to the

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Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes from the
road for an average of 4.6 seconds, which is the equivalent of driving the length of an entire
football field at 55 mph, blind. State Farm Insurance Study and NHTSA Study statistics show
that distracted driving is the number one killer of American teens. Alcohol-related accidents
among teens have dropped, but teenage traffic fatalities have remained unchanged because
distracted driving is on the rise (Stop the Texts).
AT&T is now taking a stand against texting and driving with their encouraging series of
commercials, Texting and Driving It Can Wait. One commercial featured a young lady in her
twenties. She talked about how her younger sister, Ashley, was involved in a fatal car crash
which was caused by being distracted from a text message. As if it isnt hard enough knowing
you lost a loved one due to texting and driving which could have been prevented, the young lady
in the video was the person who sent her sister that life-changing text.
The girl in the AT&T commercial, Texting and Driving It Can Wait, had a real-life
experience with the effects of texting while driving, so she knows that the message the
commercial is trying to portray is true. Even though the spokesperson was not the one who was
texting while driving, she was still affected by the dangerous act. She sent her sister a text that
read Yeah, and that simple text distracted the driver enough that she lost control of the vehicle
and her car flipped over. Though it was her sisters decision to read the text while she was
driving, the sender and the receiver of the text both have to deal with the consequences. After
experiencing the terrible effects firsthand of texting while driving, the young lady realizes a text
can wait, because it is not worth the risk. The message this commercial is trying to portray is
much more convincing because of the use of a real life situation and experience. The
commercial would be far less effective if it only used statistics to inform the viewer of the

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dangers of texting while driving. This is how ethos works in this text because it is represented by
a personal experience.
The spokesperson in the AT&T commercial, Texting and Driving It Can Wait, talks
about the relationship she had with her sister and shares personal memories of her to show her
sadness and that no text is worth losing a family member over. The commercial begins by the
spokesperson saying, Ashley was not only my little sister, she was a best friend (ShareATT).
She reminisces about her sisters laugh and how funny it would be when she would snort when
she laughed really hard. These memories represent the pain and sadness she has to deal with
everyday whenever she thinks of her sister. Also, it encourages the viewers to be fearful of the
pain and loss they would experience if they, or someone they know, texted while driving. This is
one way that pathos is used as a persuasive strategy in this text.
The AT&T commercial, Texting and Driving It Can Wait, shows that the simple text
sent to her sister read, Yeah but even the simplest text can distract the driver long enough to
cause a devastating accident. A study done by the University of Utah proved that using a cell
phone while driving, whether it's handheld or hands-free, delays a driver's reactions as much as
having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent (Stop the Texts). Since
this commercial uses a real person instead of an actor, the message is clearer that this can happen
to anyone. Most people believe that its okay to just send a short text while driving because they
can do it quickly, but any text or use of a cell phone can distract the driver enough to cause a
dangerous accident. According to the Ad Council, 77% of young adult drivers are very or
somewhat confident that they can safely text while driving, and 35% of teens who drive while
distracted don't think they'll get hurt (Stop the Texts). The problem is that it takes something
bad to happen before people take the dangers of texting while driving seriously. Answering or

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sending a text is not worth risking someones life. This is how logos works in the text Texting
and Driving It Can Wait.
Today, texting while driving is quickly becoming the main cause of distracted driving and
fatal accidents. This issue is only going to continue to become worse if proper measures are not
taken to educate people on how dangerous it is. Text messaging creates a crash risk 23 times
worse than driving while not distracted and many lives, teens especially, are being taken away
for something that can wait (Genachowski p3). Texting while driving does not only affect the
person actually texting, but also that persons family, friends and loved ones. Next time someone
is texting while driving, they need to consider how that decision could affect their life and also
the lives of the people around them. People may still think nothing will happen to them if they
text while driving, but the numbers and statistics dont lie.

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Works Cited
"Distracted Driving Facts and Stats Texting and Driving." Distracted Driving Facts and Stats.
N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2012. <http://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/factsand-statistics.html>.
Genachowski, Julius. "Time to Put the Breaks on Texting and Driving." Usatoday.com. N.p., 24
Sept. 2012. Web. 1 Oct. 2012. <http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=6&hid=5&sid
=13b114ac-badd-4afc-96a3-59d7602312f4%40sessionmgr12&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc
3QtbG12ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=J0E100256613412>.
ShareATT. "AT&T Texting While Driving Yeah." YouTube. YouTube, 17 Aug. 2012. Web.
26 Sept. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP4tW-t6vjw>.
"Stop the Texts Stop the Wrecks." Texting and Driving Prevention. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept.
2012. <http://stoptextsstopwrecks.org/>.