Canadian women’s trucking group uses trailer wrap to encourage social distancing

A Canadian trucking group is taking to the streets to promote social distancing during the COVID-19 emergency.

Shelley Uvanile-Hesch, the CEO of the Women’s Trucking Federation of Canada, always thought trailers would make for good rolling billboards – and when the coronavirus hit, she had the perfect message to relay.

“Stay home. Save lives.”

The OOIDA member from Baden, Ontario, is driving that message home by driving a trailer full of hand sanitizer across Canada for her first load in the new wrap.

The “Stay Home, Save Lives” slogan is wrapped onto her trailer, along with pictures of health care workers in masks – and the hashtag “Flatten the Curve.”

Uvanile-Hesch told Land Line Now’s Scott Thompson she got the idea after hearing stories from the road.

“I can tell you that I talk to a lot of health care workers, nurses, doctors – this has got to stop,” she said. “It’s not fear mongering. This is reality. This virus is killing people, and the only way to stop it and slow it down is by us staying at home.”

Listen to Land Line Now’s interview with Shelley Uvanile-Hesch of the Women’s Trucking Federation of Canada

She said she’s hoping people will pay attention to the billboard and will listen to the message on it.

“People need to stay home,” she said. “And it just it’s very frustrating when you don’t see people understanding that. You know, when you see groups of adults and children out walking around together, it’s just like, why isn’t this happening? Why can’t people get the message?”

Uvanile-Hesch says she’ll be sharing stories from her journey on the organization’s social media pages.

Land Line Now Senior Correspondent Scott Thompson contributed to this report.

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