Vancouver, British Columbia — March 1, 2017 — Canada’s auto dealers are once again banding together to encourage their customers to take a pledge against driving while distracted. Distracted driving is definitely dangerous, but even more worrying is that the phenomenon appears to be growing. According to data from the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), distracted driving is responsible for 4 million vehicle collisions a year in North America.
The Auto Dealers Against Distracted Driving Campaign is now in its third year, with hundreds of auto dealerships participating nationwide.
Linda Leo of West Coast Kia in Pitt Meadows, BC, is one of four featured dealers in the 2017 campaign. A demonstrated leader in previous years, Leo is once again committed to putting her ingenuity to the task and using every available resource to make sure her customers are aware of how critical it is to remain focused on the road.
“West Coast Kia has been an active participant in the Distracted Driving campaign since its inception and we look forward to engaging our customers again for a cause that hits close to home in our industry,” says Leo. “From my experience, it doesn’t take a lot to make a connection; a quick conversation or a little reminder combined with a bit of passion has the potential to make a real impact for the cause in a short amount of time.”
Customers who visit participating dealerships can make a formal commitment to drive distraction free through an online pledge at distractionfree.ca or by posting a personal pledge on their Twitter or Facebook pages at any time, using the #TakeTheWheel hashtag.
LGM Financial Services instigated the campaign in 2015 as a platform for Canadian dealers to step up against a growing industry issue. The campaign aims to educate drivers on the easy and simple solutions to resist the urge to drive distracted, such as pairing devices to bluetooth and securing potential distractions before starting a trip.
“While we continue to see hundreds of dealers participate in the campaign year over year, our focus for 2017 is to provoke increased engagement between dealers and their customers through online pledges,” says Marc-Andre Lefebvre, VP of Sales for Quebec and campaign lead at LGM. “By month end, we hope to surpass our 2017 goal of more than 8,000 pledges, doubling our count from last year’s campaign. I’m confident we will achieve this goal given the passionate group of dealers who have come forward to lead the charge.”
For more information, please visit distractionfree.ca.
