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OEA, Inc., Supports Expanded National Crackdown

24 November 1998

OEA, Inc., Supports Expanded National Crackdown on Drivers Who Don't Buckle Up Children

    DENVER, Nov. 24 -- OEA, Inc. today announced its
support of a national mobilization this Thanksgiving holiday to protect
children by stepping up enforcement of child passenger safety laws.  More than
5,000 law enforcement agencies across the nation are conducting the second
1998 wave of the Operation ABC Mobilization: America Buckles Up
Children -- the largest ever coordinated crackdown on drivers who don't buckle
up children.  OEA joins over 1,000 organizations nationwide that endorse the
intensive, 50-state lifesaving enforcement effort.
    "Tens of thousands of law enforcement officers in all 50 states will be
out in force protecting children from the greatest danger they face -- being
unrestrained in a crash," said Janet Dewey, Executive Director of the Air Bag
& Seat Belt Safety Campaign, sponsor of the Operation ABC Mobilization.  "We
know these officers are energized by the ground swell of support from
organizations across the country like OEA."
    "As a leader in the automotive air bag industry, OEA is in the business of
saving lives," said William R. Barker, president of OEA Automotive Safety
Products.  "The Operation ABC Mobilization is the kind of broad
community-based movement our nation needs to ensure the safety of America's
children."
    The Thanksgiving Operation ABC Mobilization comes on the heels of an
extremely successful Mobilization last Memorial Day.  The National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration's observational surveys before and after the
last May Mobilization showed six million more people buckling up.  This
translates into an estimated 670 lives saved each year if these people
continue to use their seat belts.  In addition, a survey by the National
Safety Council showed fatalities went down by more than 35 percent during the
Mobilization / Memorial Day period.
    OEA is the technology leader and a major manufacturer in the air bag
inflator and initiator industry.  The Company is also a leader in the design
and manufacture of personnel escape systems for military aircraft and
high-reliability devices for missile and aerospace applications.