Rick Hendrick BMW Charleston Supports National "Don't Txt & Drive" Campaign

Rick Hendrick BMW of Charleston has launched local support of a BMW North America campaign to stop texting and smart-phone distractions while driving. End Quote

Macon, GA (1888PressRelease) July 09, 2011 - The campaign, themed "DON'T TXT & DRIVE - When the Engine Starts the Texting Stops," begins this summer and runs throughout the year. Public education components include safety messages online, news stories, in-dealership campaigns, plus local advertising.

"This campaign directly targets changing drive behaviors to keep our roads and communities safe," said Bill Gironda, General Sales Manager of Rick Hendrick BMW, Charleston. "It's so easy to become distracted while driving these days and statistics show driver errors are on the rise related to cell phones and communication devices.
"This campaign makes us take a serious look at our driving habits by showing how we often overprotect for safety in other aspects of our lives," said Gironda.

U.S. Department of Transportation statistics show nearly 5.500 people died in crashes in 2009 involving a distracted driver, while the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found 87 percent of teen drivers admit to texting while behind the wheel. These statistics provided BMW with ample motivation to get behind this cause and develop the campaign.

Campaign creative illustrates the contradiction between being an overprotective parent and the carelessness of texting while driving. A television spot juxtaposes imagery of an overly cautious father bathing his son with the added protection of water wings and goggles, and a mother obsessively putting hand sanitizer on her child's hands. The final scene points out how all of that can be undone in a second as a mother picks up her phone when a text message is received while her child is strapped into a car seat behind her. It closes with a scene of another car racing toward them before the mother looks up and realizes what is about to happen.

The screen cuts to black and displays the tagline, "Your Family's Safety is in Your Hands. When the Engine Starts, The Texting Stops."

Jim O'Donnell, CEO, BMW North America, said "Distracted driving of any kind, especially texting while driving, is an extremely dangerous activity that costs thousands of lives every year, We developed this campaign to be impactful in hopes of evoking emotion and conveying the serious dangers of distracted driving and its potential consequences."

Variations of print advertisements feature views of the road from distracted drivers' perspective. In one, a texting driver's view of a young child running onto the street is obstructed by their smart-phone. The only evidence of the child's presence is the outline of his shape and the ball he is chasing appearing on the phone as if the phone wasn't hiding him from view. Others obscure a deer in the road and truck turning in from a side street, suggesting the preoccupied driver is about to crash.

In online advertisements, the words "TEXT MESSAGING IS VERY DISTRACTING" appear in bold, block letters across the homepage of websites making it difficult to read and demonstrating how texting while driving interferes with a driver's field of vision.

About BMW Safety Training, Technology
At the BMW Performance Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the company's Teen Driving School has trained more than 3,000 young drivers over the last 10 years to help them safely and properly handle their vehicles. The program continues this year.

The "DON'T TXT & DRIVE" message will be incorporated in more than 100 teen driving schools conducted across the United States this year by the BMW Car Club of America Foundation.
BMW dealerships will feature printed materials, hangtags and static cling decals for display in vehicles and showrooms throughout the campaign.

In December of 2010, as part of his initiative to meet with auto manufacturers on the subject of distracted driving, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood met with BMW's O'Donnell to discuss actions both organizations were taking. BMW was already active promoting Don't Text and Drive through its Teen Driving School, and was inspired to develop more comprehensive actions, including the advertising campaign.

As a leader in technology, BMW continues to use research and innovation to develop systems that enhance safety and convenience while further eliminating distraction.

For example, the company uses a method called pupilometry to define the movement of one's eye between information inside the vehicle and the car controls. This helps defines the placement of information to allow maximum attention on the road and the ability to monitor systems.

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