Not all motorists are using their smartphone to textmany are tapping into social media, surfing the net, or even video chatting.

New research from AT&T reveals that 70 percent of people engage their smartphone while driving. Most of them are texting and emailing (a combined 94 percent), but many have taken up other activities behind the wheel, like browsing the Web (28 percent), checking social media (66 percent across platforms), snapping a selfie (17 percent), shooting a video (12 percent), or video chatting (10 percent).

"When we launched 'It Can Wait' five years ago, we pleaded with people to realize that no text is worth a life," Lori Lee, AT&T global marketing officer, said in a statement. "The same applies to other smartphone activities that people are doing while driving.

"For the sake of you and those around you," Lee continued, "please keep your eyes on the road, not on your phone."

In an always-on world, it's not surprising to learn that 62 percent of drivers keep their smartphones within arm's reachin their hand, lap, cup holder, or on the passenger seat or dash.

The 30 percent of folks, however, who post to Twitter "all the time" while driving are more troubling. What's worse, 22 percent of them cite addiction as their reason for accessing social networks at the same time as operating a motor vehicle.

To get the message out, AT&T and Twitter will join forces to share messages on the microblogging platform that warn users of the dangers of smartphone use behind the wheel.

AT&T is expected to partner with other social networks, and is planning a nationwide virtual reality tour this summer to help people understand that it's just not possible to drive safely while using a phone. The immersive experience, supported by Samsung, Bose, and Google, will be delivered via Samsung Gear VR headsets, with Bose QuietComfort 25 Acoustic Noise-Cancelling Headphones.

Google Cardboard will also allow people to use their own smartphones to participate in the 3D program.

If you're naturally drawn to the beep of a cell phone and can't count on your willpower to stop you from reaching for the device, the AT&T DriveMode app could help. The free service for iOS and Android silences alerts; it automatically turns on when you reach 15 mph and turns off after you stop. AT&T post-paid customers get auto-reply messages, which tell the sender that you're driving.

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