AutoWeek Hosts First-Ever Teen Driving Safety Summit in an Effort to Save Lives on America's Roads

Over 45,000 people in the United States die each year due to automotive- related accidents

DETROIT, July 16 -- In its quest to improve teenage driver safety in America, AutoWeek magazine will host its inaugural Teen Driving Safety Summit, in partnership with Dodge, on August 28, 2007, at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich.

Those dedicated to the cause, from parents and teens, educators and advanced teen driving schools, to legislators and those in the automotive and insurance industry and corporate America, are all invited to attend.

The full-day summit will open with a powerful lineup of speakers, including Dr. Ricardo Martinez, executive vice president of medical affairs and regional medical officer of the Schumacher Group and former administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; Phil Berardelli, teen safety advocate and author of Safe Young Drivers: A Guide for Parents and Teens; and a panel of professional driving school instructors, all discussing the importance of proper driver education and what needs to be done in order to improve the current system.

The afternoon session will then be dedicated to driver training exercises conducted by professional drivers from the Richard Petty Driving Experience. In an effort to further educate today's drivers and demonstrating what needs to be included in the current driver education curriculum, attendees will experience first-hand common challenges of the road and proper ways in which to handle various situations.

"Aware of the horrific statistics in today's society about teen accidents and deaths, the goal of the summit is to bring together those who influence driver education in this country and increase their awareness of current safety issues. We'll then look to them to carry the message back to their communities, state and federal legislators and educational systems in an effort to better today's driver education," explains AutoWeek Editor & Associate Publisher Dutch Mandel.

"We are very pleased to be partnering with AutoWeek on the Teen Driving Safety Summit to draw this critical issue to the forefront and make parents, educators and officials even more aware of the challenges that face us and how best to focus our efforts collectively," said Mike Accavitti, director, Dodge Brand Marketing and Motorsports & SRT Product Planning, Chrysler Group. "Teen driving safety has been a topic we have been aware of and actively involved with for many years through our Road Ready Teens program (http://www.roadreadyteens.org/), so this hands-on program with so many prominent officials takes our involvement to another level."

For more information on the AutoWeek Teen Driving Safety Summit and to register for the event, please visit http://www.autoweek.com/tdss by August 21, 2007. Space is limited, so those interested are encouraged to register early.

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Dodge Brand: With a U.S. market share of seven percent, Dodge is the Chrysler Group's best-selling brand and the fifth largest nameplate in the U.S. automotive market. In 2006, Dodge sold more than 1.3 million vehicles in the global market. Dodge continues to lead the minivan market with a 20 percent market share in the U.S. In the highly competitive truck market, Dodge has a 16 percent market share. Dodge is also entering key European volume segments with Nitro and Caliber.