Electronic Stability Control Helps Save Lives; Continental's ESC 'Safely There' Mobile Exhibit Visits Chicago-area Driving Students

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 6,000 teen drivers are killed annually as a result of motor vehicle crashes and more than 325,000 were injured last year. More than half of those fatalities involved a vehicle rollover.

While many have heard these startling statistics, what most Americans have yet to hear is safety technology available today can help drivers prevent a large number of those injuries and deaths from occurring. It's called Electronic Stability Control (ESC), and today, automotive supplier Continental Teves is providing driver's education students at Chicago's Lane Technical High School the opportunity to experience this and other automotive safety technologies first hand with its traveling Safely There mobile exhibit.

The brightly orange-colored Safely There mobile exhibit provides visitors interactive, multi-media displays, as well as a "test drive" with electronic stability control in a sophisticated, futuristic 3-D simulator ride.

"This is an opportunity for driving students to experience first hand safety technologies designed to help drivers maintain control in potential crash situations," said Don McNamara, NHTSA regional administrator for the Chicago area. "Safety technologies that work in conjunction with smart, educated driving behavior is a strong tandem for saving more lives in the future."

In Europe and Japan, crash-related injuries and deaths are declining much faster than in the U.S. Studies in Germany indicate vehicles equipped with electronic stability control were involved in 30 percent fewer single-vehicle crashes, and a 15 percent reduction in all crashes. Though electronic stability control technology is currently available in the U.S., only six percent of the vehicles on the road today are equipped with the safety technology.

"Several recent studies in countries where electronic stability control is on significantly more vehicles than in North America have shown if this technology was standard equipment in the U.S., we could potentially save 5,000 to 6,000 lives, tens of thousands of injuries and $35 billion in economic costs annually," said Continental spokesperson, Steven Blow. "The key is to prevent accidents from occurring in the first place and that is what electronic stability control is designed to do."

Continental Teves, headquartered in Frankfurt/Main, Germany, is a unit of Continental AG, Hanover, Germany. With 2002 sales of approximately $12 billion (US), the Continental Corporation is a major supplier of brake systems, chassis components, vehicle electronics, tires and technical rubber products. Continental Teves' North American operation is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Mich. For additional information, visit these websites: www.safelythere.com www.conti-online.com and www.contitevesna.com .

Interview opportunities and B-roll demonstrating the safety advantages of electronic stability control is available from the contact number listed on the release.

Tomorrow's Drivers Learn How Today's Technology Helps Prevent Rollovers

Who: Driver Education students from Lane Technical High School receive representatives from Continental, one of the world's leading automotive suppliers of high-tech safety technologies, as well as Chicago-area NHTSA officials, for a brief overview of Electronic Stability Control (ESC) for media and students, as well as a "hands-on" experience of the technology.

What: ESC technology presentation and 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.

Talk with future drivers from Lane Technical High School about how the availability of ESC will influence their future vehicle purchases.

  When:   Friday, September 12, 10 a.m.

  Where:  Lane Technical High School, 2501 West Addison Street, Chicago
          Driver Education area, behind school
          Enter parking lot on Western Ave. and look for orange 18-wheeler
          "Safely There" exhibit.

Why: A fatal rollover crash occurs in the state of Illinois nearly every day -- but technology is available to help reduce rollovers.

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. 11