Ride and Drive Opportunity, Wednesday, September 3; Experience Continental's Electronic Stability Control (ESC) on a Volvo XC90

Who: Representatives from Continental, one of the world's leading automotive suppliers of high-tech safety technologies, as well as local safety leaders, will be on hand to discuss Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and provide the media a brief overview and a "hands-on" experience of the technology.

What: A ride and drive in a Volvo XC90, the next-generation SUV, to experience Continental's Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and Roll Stability Control (RSC) technologies firsthand.

Tours of Continental's Safely There mobile exhibit, highlighting ESC and other accident avoidance technologies currently available on new vehicles. It features interactive, multimedia displays and visitors can "test drive" a vehicle with/without electronic stability control in a sophisticated, 3-D driving simulator.

  When:  Wednesday, September 3, 9 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

  Where: Coors Field - Parking Lot B, 2001 Blake Street, Denver
         Entrance to the event will be through the 27th & Blake entrance.

  Why:   More than 700 rollovers occur every day in the United States.

Traffic deaths in 2002 reached the highest level since 1990, and fatalities in rollover crashes accounted for 82 percent of the increase in 2002, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). There has been a steady drumbeat of warnings about the dangers of rollovers, especially in SUVs.

* But available safety equipment that is widely used in Europe and elsewhere that could prevent more than 5,000 rollover deaths every year is still unknown to most Americans. The Continental "Safely There" exhibit demonstrates this currently available technology to the public.

* The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended last month that the NHTSA expand and expedite its current evaluation of electronic stability control and consider whether to require it in all passenger vehicles.

* Continental, a major automotive supplier of electronic stability control and other safety equipment, is launching a national educational road tour to promote consumer awareness about preventing rollover crashes, injuries and fatalities. More information is available at www.conti-online.com or www.contitevesna.com

B-roll: Dramatic b-roll of rollover crashes and electronic stability control effectiveness is available.

PRNewswire -- Sept. 2