BMW drives home texting & driving threat

BMW has made good on its promise to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that’ll help get out the word about the dangers of distracted driving.

Below find one of the distracted driving video PSAs created by BMW as part of its campaign “Don’t TXT & Drive — When the Engine Starts the Texting Stops.”

The German automaker and Department of Transportation chief Ray LaHood made nice in December, as concerns were mounting over interactive communications systems being placed in vehicles. The latest “Don’t TXT & Drive” campaign grew out of that meeting.

LaHood, meanwhile, gave the Wall Street Journal a juicy quote for its story this week on Internet-based auto gadgets: “There’s absolutely no reason for any person to download their Facebook into the car,” he said.

The BMW campaign features print ads as well. Dealerships will feature printed materials, hang-tags and decals for display in vehicles and showrooms throughout the summer. (text continues … )

Subaru, the other automaker to hear LaHood’s call, bought major TV airtime for its “Baby Driver” PSA, in which a little girl playing in a car morphs into a teen ready for her first solo drive. “Call me — but not when you’re driving,” her protective dad says.

LaHood said of BMW’s campaign: “I am grateful to BMW for their efforts to raise public awareness about distracted driving, and for urging drivers to put down their phones and focus on the road. I hope that other automakers will follow their lead.”