March 1 marked the official start of the 2016 Auto Dealers Against Distracted Driving Campaign across Canada, and 670 dealerships have currently registered nation-wide to participate.

Customers walking through the doors of any of these dealerships over the next month will be asked to do more than just browse the inventory. They will also be encouraged to take a pledge against distracted driving.

This serious issue is responsible for 4 million vehicle collisions a year in North America. The campaign was launched by LGM Financial Services Inc. as a platform for Canadian dealers to address this growing issue. And by adding their store name to the cause, LGM shared “auto dealers are joining forces in their communities to say: we are not okay with distracted driving.”

Linda Thomas, of Applewood Auto Group, said, "This is our second year participating in the campaign and we're hoping to build off of the great response we saw from our customers last year. Our Applewood Kia location in Surrey, B.C., was among the top dealers in the country with 618 individual pledges collected over the course of campaign month.

"It's important we engage directly with our customers because we believe that the act of physically signing your name will encourage a real behavioral change. We hope our campaign will encourage them to think twice before reaching for their phone while behind the wheel,” she continued.

Customers who visit participating dealerships in March will be asked to make a personal pledge against the distracted driving and make a formal commitment to improve road safety by not driving distracted.

Pledges from customers and dealership employees can also be submitted online at www.distractionfree.ca.

LGM management explained the campaign is designed to educate drivers on solutions to “resist the urge” to drive distracted, such as pairing to blue tooth and securing potential distractions before starting a trip.

"A total of 433 dealerships registered for our inaugural campaign last year and today, we are already sitting at 670 dealers, which is approximately a 50 percent increase — and there's potential for that number to grow since dealers can register right up until the end of March," says Marc-Andre Lefebvre, vice president of sales for the Quebec region at LGM. "Measuring registered dealers is only one form of engagement; we are also aiming to surpass last year's campaign pledge count of 3,000 and I'm confident we will do that."

The campaign is supported by Sovereign General Insurance Company and The Co-operators.

Follow the national campaign on Twitter @LGMCanada.