University freshman Chase Salazar@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Chase+Salazar@@ stepped out of a red Hyundai — this one a simulation machine — parked outside of the EMU amphitheater after successfully driving through a simulated neighborhood while attempting to type a text message.
“It was definitely difficult,” Salazar said, who made it through the simulator, drifting to the wrong side of the road once. “I went in there with a game plan of going really slow, but you’re so focused that you forget about it. I didn’t even finish typing out my message.”
AT&T launched the “It Can Wait” campaign in March 2010. Since then, the company has produced not only a 10-minute documentary @@checked@@about the dangers of texting and driving but also an application for Blackberry and Android phones that turns off messaging notifications and tells text senders the recipient is driving. Currently, they are a touring the driving simulator.
“I think it’s a real eye-opener,” said Adam Grzybicki, president of the AT&T  branch in Oregon.@@http://democratherald.com/news/local/at-t-touts-benefits-of-merger-to-linn/article_c6f80536-0ffe-11e1-9904-001cc4c002e0.html@@ “The simulator can fully portray the dangers of texting while driving to students.”
The simulator asks participants to drive through a typical neighborhood while trying to type a text message on his or her phone. Then, the computer calculates every time the driver drives over the speed limit, drifts over to the wrong side the road or strikes a person or animal.
“It’s just like trying to read a book while driving,” Salazar said. “Reading a book would probably even be easier because you can just set it down. With a text, once you start responding, you don’t want to stop because it’s such a short process.”
Statistics produced by AT&T show a car driving at 65 mph travels the length of a basketball court in a single second. It also states texting takes drivers’ eyes off the road for an average of five seconds — the time it takes for a car to travel the length of a football field at highway speeds.
“Teens and young adults are 50 percent more likely to text than adults are,” said Anne Marshall, an AT&T spokesperson.@@http://search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0oGdWolXbBPU3cA1AFXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE1Mm5nMmRqBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDNARjb2xvA3NrMQR2dGlkA1ZJUDA0OF8yMDA-/SIG=11mrpibbk/EXP=1336987045/**http%3a//juneauempire.com/node/13804@@ “We are trying to address the problem now before it gets out of hand.”
The “It Can Wait” simulator itself started in the Midwest approximately six months ago. After Eugene, the simulator will make its way into California and eventually back up through Oregon to Washington.