CAA launches new campaign on distracted driving

  • gb
02.12.20

The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) has launched a new, FIA-sponsored campaign that focuses on the evolution of distraction behind the wheel. All with the simple message: if you’re driving, put your phone away.

Distracted driving is still a major issue on Canadian roads, especially among younger drivers. The police force in Canada’s most populous province has declared that distracted driving has surpassed drunk driving as the leading cause of collisions.*

Several other Canadian and international studies support the contention that one form of distraction - smartphone use while driving (still referred to colloquially as ‘texting while driving’) - is the top cause of collisions and fatalities among young people in North America. 

However, a study from the U.S. revealed that teens don’t always equate ‘texting and driving’ messaging with equally distracting habits, such as fiddling with a playlist on their phone or scrolling through social media. Today, music apps, maps, messaging apps and social media are all frequently used while driving and pose the same threat as calling or texting.

To combat this and reduce collisions, CAA wanted to empower young drivers to participate in a smartphone “detox” in their cars. Thanks to funding from the FIA, CAA was able to produce a video-based social media campaign to encourage youth to Unplug And Drive.

CAA’s own research shows that scare tactics don’t work with this generation**. Using quirky, relatable characters and humour, Unplug And Driveensures young Canadians are aware that distracted driving goes well beyond texting, and that these other behaviours are just as risky. 

The campaign has garnered more than 4.3 million impressions and 600,000 completed video views so far. CAA married its decades of experience in road safety messaging with award-winning Vancouver-based agency One Twenty Three West (123w) to launch Unplug And Drive on October 13. The campaign will run nationally until mid-December on Instagram and YouTube. 123w was also CAA’s partner on the Club’s 2019 cannabis campaign that won the FIA’s global road safety campaign of the year award.

Campaign videos:

English: BearsOctopusPelican and Montage
French: BearsOctopusPelican and Montage

 

About CAA

CAA is a not-for-profit federation of eight Clubs providing over six million Members with exceptional emergency roadside service, complete automotive and travel services, member savings and comprehensive insurance services. CAA also advocates on issues of concern to its members, including road safety, the environment, mobility, infrastructure and consumer protection. CAA was named Canada’s most trusted brand in 2020 by the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria.