Statewide Initiative: Pledge To Stop Texting While Driving

The Kansas Insurance Department has launched a statewide campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of texting while driving. T he initiative begins with the state’s seven public universities. Wichita State University and the other schools are competing to get students, faculty, alumni and community members to take a pledge to stop texting while driving. Katie Deutsch, of WSU’s Student Government Association, says there will be events on campus to promote the competition. "At the end of the day, it’s not about who wins, of course, but it’s about how much awareness we can raise," she says. Deutsch says they’ll use a “seat simulator” from a sheriff’s department to drive home the dangers of texting while driving. "It’s a bus that students can go in and get behind the wheel, kind of a simulated texting and driving experience [to] just see how dangerous it is how difficult it is to maneuver behind the wheel while texting and driving," she says. Kansas Insurance Commissioner Ken Selzer