Society of Plastics Engineers First Annual Automotive Safety Conference
1 February 2000
Society of Plastics Engineers First Annual Automotive Safety Conference
Martinez Serves as Keynote Speaker at Conference
DETROIT, Feb. 1 -- What happens when the emergency room
fast-paced routine integrates with the lightning speed of the internet?
Ricardo Martinez, M.D., vice president, health affairs, WebMD and former
administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
will discuss the outcome and its impact on global automotive safety.
The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) has announced that Martinez, one
of the world's most highly renowned experts on automotive safety, will serve
as keynote speaker at the First Annual Automotive Safety Conference, 11:30
a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday, Feb. 7, at the Michigan State University Management
Education Center in Troy.
"Martinez is not your father's bureaucrat," said Cole. "In five years as
the nation's top automotive safety regulator, he transitioned NHTSA into a
living laboratory and brought fresh, although unusual approaches to a wide
range of difficult safety issues ranging from airbags and child-safety seats
to rollovers and defect recalls.
"The nation experienced its lowest highway- and alcohol-related fatality
rates in history during Martinez's time at NHTSA. He also was a major force
in increasing seat belt and infant-seat usage, measures that live up to the
agency's charge of protecting the motoring public."
Martinez, an emergency room physician by training, has dedicated the last
five years to improving automotive safety. Working to integrate the medical
community and automotive safety, one of his greatest accomplishments at NHTSA
was expediting the creation of the Crash Injury & Engineering Network (CIREN).
CIREN linked seven trauma centers by computer, allowing doctors and engineers
to share crash data and expertise.
"Recently a Ford Motor Company engineer was hosted at the University of
Miami trauma center as part of the CIREN program," stated Dr. Jeffrey
Augenstein, medical director of the William Lehman Research Center at the
University of Miami. "The engineer was invited into the operating room for a
week, giving him a first-hand look at lacerated livers, ruptured spleens and
broken bones. This kind of cooperation did not happen before the CIREN
program."
According to NHTSA, when someone under age 43 dies in this country, it is
more likely to be from a traffic accident than any other single cause. Also,
every year, about three million people are injured as the result of traffic
crashes, and almost half a million of these injuries are severe or fatal.
In 1993, Martinez served as associate director of the Center for Injury
Control and associate professor at the Division of Emergency Medicine at Emory
University. He has also held several positions at Stanford University
Hospital, including assistant professor of Surgery/Emergency Medicine and
associate director of Trauma Service. In addition, Martinez worked as Super
Bowl medical consultant to the National Football League from 1985 to 1993.
The SPE International Automotive Safety Conference is an opportunity for
engineering, marketing, sales and policy professionals at vehicle
manufacturers and suppliers to interact with industry executives. To purchase
tickets, contact Pat Levine at the American Plastics Council at 248-244-8993,
or e-mail, spe@ameriplas.org .
Advanced registration cost for SPE members is $250, and non-members is
$300. On-site tickets are $300 for SPE members and $350 for non-members,
including a complimentary membership to SPE. Registration is limited to the
first 300 people to purchase tickets.
Automotive Safety Conference sponsors include DuPont Automotive, Delphi
Automotive Systems, Lear Corporation, Magna International, Solutia, AutoLiv,
Visteon, First Technology Safety Systems, Easi Engineering, MGA, Exatec and
George Washington University.