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NHTSA Administrator Dr. Runge Signs on for Convergence(R) 2004 Driver Distraction Panel

Panel to discuss convenience and consumer desire: How much is too much?

DEARBORN, Mich., Aug. 17 -- While driver distraction gets more attention in the media and industry, Convergence 2004 organizers will take the issue head on with a premier interactive panel discussion during the October conference that includes Dr. Jeffrey Runge, Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

"As more governments enact legislation concerning mobile communication devices and potential driver distraction, the debate over how much and what type of electronics should be installed in vehicles will become even more heated," says Dr. Gerhard Schmidt, Convergence 2004 chair and Ford Vice President of Research and Advanced Engineering. "We expect this panel to be a lively and serious examination of how to balance safety with consumer demand for electronic devices inside the car."

Joining Runge for the Driver Distraction panel at Convergence 2004, Oct. 18-20 at Cobo Center in Detroit, are:

Mitsuhiko Masegi, Managing Officer, Safety & Chassis Systems Product Division, DENSO Corporation

Tom MacTavish, Vice President & Director, Human Interface Lab, Motorola Automotive

  Jeff Greenberg, Manager, VIRTTEX Driving Simulator, Ford Motor Company
  John McElroy, Executive Producer, Blue Sky Productions.

Sue Cischke, Vice President of Environmental and Safety Engineering at Ford, and the panel's moderator, will lead a discussion focused on current and near future in-vehicle electronics, such as information systems, navigation devices, entertainment systems, mobile phones using Bluetooth technology, personal data assistants, Wi-Fi enabled products and e-mail.

The panel is Oct. 20, from 1:00-2:15 p.m. in room W1-52 at Cobo Center. To attend this and other Convergence events, register online at http://convergence2004.org/ .

Convergence 2004 will feature 200 leading-edge exhibits, 15 technical sessions, 86 white papers, three panel discussions and five keynote speeches: all-access tickets are $395 for SAE and IEEE members and $495 for nonmembers who register before Oct. 3, 2004. This year's theme is "Vehicle Electronics to Digital Mobility: The Next Generation of Convergence." The conference is hosted and organized by Ford Motor Company.

For 30 years Convergence, the world's foremost automotive electronics conference, has inspired dramatic innovation in automotive electronics by creating a forum for experts in the fields of mechanical and electronic engineering. Convergence 2004 organizers expect more than 9,000 attendees and 300 media.

Convergence 2004 Gold sponsors are Ford Motor Company; Robert Bosch Corporation; Delphi Corporation; DENSO International America, Inc.; Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.; General Motors Corporation; IBM Corporation; Motorola Automotive; Toyota Motor Corporation; and Yazaki North America, Inc.

The Convergence Transportation Electronics Association (CTEA) sponsors Convergence 2004. Proceeds from the conference will benefit the Convergence Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1993 to support mathematics and science education for disadvantaged school-aged children.