Following an uproar on social media, a U.S. road safety campaign group has deleted a tweet promoting a “dream giveaway” of muscle cars.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD, is currently raising funds through the Dream Giveaway website, which, since 2008, has used ticket sales—and write-ins—for the chance to win high-performance Muscle Car and trucks.
Donations channeled through dreamgiveaway.com have raised millions of dollars for various 501(c)(3) charitable organizations, including cancer charities.
However, as MADD campaigns against dangerous driving, it’s perhaps strange for the non-profit to raise funds with a promotion glorifying and celebrating sport Muscle Car and SUVs.
“We share the vision of safer roads for everyone and respect all victims, survivors, and advocates who work tirelessly to eradicate all forms of dangerous driving,” MADD’s director of communications Becky Iannotta told Forbes.com by email.
“Given our nation’s crisis of increased deaths on our roads, we removed our tweet and will move forward with heightened sensitivity,” she revealed.
Iannotta also added that “[motor] vehicles become weapons when people make the selfish choice to engage in hazardous driving behaviors, including drunk and drug-impaired driving, distracted driving, and speeding.”
The now-deleted tweet featured three high-performance motor vehicles and said: “Park one of these Dream Machines inside your garage!” The tweet ended with the hashtag, #NoMoreVictims.
While the tweet has gone, the Dream Giveaway promotion continues. In a YouTube video embedded on dreamgiveway.com, MADD’s president Alex Otte says:
“Your entry into a Dream Giveaway drawing helps us provide services to a victim of drunk and drug driving every three minutes.”
MADD has been campaigning for more than 40 years and is operational in the United States, Canada, and Brazil.
