Continued Increase in Teen Crash Rates Prompts Group to Host Free Safety/Car Care Educational Clinic

         Experts Provide Young Women With Essential Driving Tips,
                             Car Care Basics

WHAT: Fatality data show that young drivers continue to be over- represented in fatal crashes. For young females, the outlook is even more deadly. In the ten-year span between 1992 and 2002, young women's fatal crash rates escalated by 42 percent. And, car crashes account for 48% of all fatalities for 16-year-old women (in contrast to 37% for 16-year-old men). In 2003, combined injuries/fatalities for young women outpaced those for young men. To help educate and empower this vulnerable and often-overlooked population, Safe Smart Women (S2W) is hosting a free CarCare Clinic for young women in Austin. The Clinic will offer hands-on opportunities to learn concepts of advanced driving, how installed safety features work in vehicles, how to buy a safe and appropriate car, and learn under-the-hood car care and maintenance from experts.

  AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW:
          Lizzie Nimmich -- Crash Survivor and Advisor, Safe Smart Women
          Kristin Backstrom -- Executive Director, Safe Smart Women
          Gordon Booth -- Advanced Driving Instructor, DriveTrain USA

  WHEN:   Friday, May 20, 2005, at 6:00 p.m.
          Future CarCare Clinic opportunities are posted online at
          http://www.s2w.org/.
   
   WHERE:  CarMax Retail Superstore, Austin Retail Location
   13300 North I-35 (Service Road, Southbound)
   
   ABOUT:  S2W promotes driver safety strategies and car care basics for
   young women.  S2W reaches young women and their parents through
   free CarCare Clinics and at http://www.s2w.org/.

GREAT VISUALS: Opportunity to interview safe driving experts and young women; under-the-hood car care training offered in a service bay setting.

PRNewswire -- May 18