Smith System Introduces New On-Line Collision Avoidance Courses; Web-Based Courses Include Forward Motion and Backing in Both Truck and Small Vehicle Versions

ARLINGTON, Texas--Nov. 2, 2005--Smith System, the leader in professional driver training, today announced its newest Web-based safety courses designed to help drivers learn how to avoid collisions. The courses, which are part of the Five Keys to Safe Driving e-learning series, include Forward Motion and Backing in both truck and small vehicle versions.

Both courses emphasize the core driving fundamentals of space, visibility and time that are the foundation of the Smith System Five Keys. The highly interactive, multimedia-rich courses are accessed on the Internet, where students can learn at their own pace. While taking the course, students must regularly respond to questions to measure their understanding and retention. Upon completion, each learner takes a test that is stored in an on-line database available to management.

Backing is a difficult driving maneuver and occupies the top three categories of collisions for most companies. In the Backing course, drivers learn how to avoid backing collisions through the application of the Five Keys principles. These include understanding the common causes of backing collisions or incidents, compensating for blind areas and obstacles, and dealing with challenging backing environments. The Forward Motion course examines the common causes of collisions, including time pressures, driver distraction and inattention. It provides drivers with useful and practical strategies to anticipate problems and react safely.

"Because we drive forward most of the time, backing skills are not well developed," said Jim Smith, vice president of training at Smith System. "We designed both the Backing and Forward Motion courses to help drivers be mentally prepared to make better decisions and avoid collisions."

Both courses are useful as an introduction or to reinforce on-the-road training and are easily accessible on-line by new drivers. The courses are also beneficial to retrain drivers and document their participation in the case of a collision or other driving incident. Each course takes approximately 90 minutes to complete.

For a full on-line demonstration, call 800-777-7648 or visit www.smith-system.com for a course preview.

About Smith System

Smith System Driver Improvement Institute, Inc. was founded in 1952 as the nation's first fleet driver safety training organization with on-road, hands-on safety education techniques for experienced drivers. Smith System delivers behind-the-wheel instruction to more than 15,000 fleet drivers each year and has presented their program in 70 countries. In the past decade, Smith has provided services to more than half of the current Fortune 500(R) fleets and is the only company in the industry that guarantees the quality of their training. In addition to its on-road training and extensive video and DVD library, the company offers Web-based education and fleet monitoring.

For more information, visit www.smith-system.com.