Students at Three Lakes High School are learning about the dangers of DWI, ot Driving While Intexticated, from one of their peers.
Three Lakes High School senior Austin Wierschke is the two time LG U.S. National Texting Champion. He's using his title to encourage his friends to take the pledge and join the AT&T "It Can Wait" campaign.
On Friday Wierschke, along with members of the Wisconsin State Patrol, State Senator Tom Tiffany (R-Hazelhurst) and State Representative Rob Swearingen (R-Rhinelander), took to the stage. Wierschke shared with his classmates the reason he took the pledge not to text and drive. A commitment he says began long before he became the National Texting Champion.
"It was a couple of summers ago. My brother actually got into a really bad car accident. It wasn't texting and driving, but it was distracted driving so it just kind of opened my eyes about distracted driving," Wierschke shared.
Wierschke along with the students at the assembly all had the chance to experience the dangers of texting and driving first hand thanks to AAA's distracted driving simulator.
Wierschke hopes that his speech really opens his peers eyes to the dangers of distracted driving.
"I have the title of the fastest texter in the U.S. and I get to go to New York and text blindfolded one hundred percent accurately," Wierschke said. "Coming from someone that has done stuff like that, they should know that I don't even text and drive it's just not a good risk to take."
Wierschke's message does not stop at his school. He also shot a commercial for the "It Can Wait" campaign.
