According to OnlineSchools.com, texting while driving can make a collision up to 23 times more likely, while about 23 percent of all auto collisions in 2011 involved the use of cell phones. Long Island Audi dealer Audi Lynbrook is looking to mitigate that serious problem by teaming with local marketing and consulting company IndustryMuscle.com to launch the iDrive “No Texting While Driving” awareness program.
Representatives of the iDrive program have been traveling in recent weeks to a number of Long Island high schools to educate students on the dangers of texting while driving, with scheduled visits to Brentwood High School, Wyandanch Memorial High School, Newfield High School, Hempstead High School, Uniondale High School, Shoreham-Wading River High School and Islip High School still to come. Meanwhile, an elaborate online video contest has been launched to encourage students at those schools to pledge to not text and drive, the contest winner will get a vehicle on the day of his or her graduation.
“In my 17 years in the auto industry, Audi Lynbrook is the first dealership I’ve worked for that’s taken the time to reach out to our youth for a cause that not only affects them personally but also everyone else on the road,” said Sandra Dellolio, business development manager at Audi Lynbrook. “It makes me proud to be associated with the Atlantic Auto Group and General Manager Justin Haynes, who made it possible for us to reach out to Long Island teenagers by getting behind this cause.”
Find out what's happening in Malverne-Lynbrookwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Upcoming Schedule
Location: Date:
Brentwood High Oct. 25
Wyandanch High Nov. 7
Newfield High Nov. 14
Hempstead High Nov. 25
Uniondale High Dec. 5
Shoreham-Wading River High Dec. 13
Islip High TBD
Find out what's happening in Malverne-Lynbrookwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
To enter the iDrive contest, students at the aforementioned high schools must submit a two-minute video by Dec. 31 explaining why the texting while driving issue is important to them. The video’s title should include the contest name, the student’s name and the high school they attend, and it must be uploaded to YouTube with its link pasted on Audi Lynbrook’s Facebook wall at www.facebook.com/AudiLynbrook. Based on the video content and the engagement that each student receives on Facebook, a “No Texting Brand Ambassador” will be selected from each school in early February.
For the second stage of the contest, from Feb. 8 to March 10, the brand ambassadors will make a second video that features their fellow students pledging to not text and drive. The submission process will be identical to the first video, but the new clip will be judged on sincerity, the context of the pledge and the amount of pledges. Additionally, brand ambassadors will later be asked to submit a storyboard for a “No Texting While Driving” PSA that will be reviewed by the iDrive staff and Team Audi during an in-person roundtable in early May. The overall iDrive contest winner will be announced on May 20, with his or her PSA filmed between May 20 and June 10.
In addition to the main iDrive contest, S.A.D.D. student groups are also invited to post their own creative “No Texting While Driving” YouTube videos on Audi Lynbrook’s Facebook wall during the campaign, and one club will receive a monetary gift/prize every 60 days. All students should use the following hashtags when promoting their iDrive content on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: #idrivenotexting, #audioflynbrook and #industrymuscle.
“It’s a really good feeling knowing that Justin Haynes and Audi Lynbrook have enthusiastically supported my idea on the iDrive program,” said James Billings, owner of IndustryMuscle.com and founder and coordinator of iDrive. “Being able to give students an incentive to be proactive and spread this powerful message is truly a blessing.”
