Local Epidemic of Young Driver Deaths Reinforces Need for Education

   Clinic Offers Young Women Safe Driving Strategies, Auto Care Basics

  WHAT:     Fatality data show that young drivers continue to be over-
            represented in fatal crashes.  In the Washington, DC area alone,
            more than twenty young people have been killed on the roads in
            recent months.  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.  To help
            educate and empower this vulnerable and oft-overlooked
            population, Safe Smart Women (S2W) is hosting a free CarCare
            Clinic for Montgomery County, MD Girl Scouts of driving age.
            The Clinic will offer hands-on opportunities to learn safe
            driving strategies, how installed safety features work in
            vehicles and under-the-hood auto care from experts.

  AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW:
            Lizzie Nimmich -- Student Advisor, Safe Smart Women
            A.J. Willingham -- Student Advisor, Safe Smart Women
            Trish Serratore -- Vice President, Automotive Service Excellence
            Kristin Backstrom -- Executive Director, Safe Smart Women

  WHEN:     Friday, January 7, 2005 from 6 - 9:30 p.m.
            NOTE: S2W IS NOT LOOKING TO GENERATE ADDITIONAL ATTENDANCE FOR
            THIS EVENT.  THE CLINIC IS ALREADY OVERBOOKED AND IS NOW CLOSED
            TO THE PUBLIC.  Future CarCare Clinic opportunities will be
            posted online at http://www.s2w.org/.
   
   WHERE:    CarMax, 15931 Frederick Road, Rockville, MD
   Directions from Washington, DC: Exit 8 off I-270 North.  Right
   onto Redland Road.  Left on MD-355.  CarMax is 1/4 mile on the
   right.
   
   ABOUT:    S2W educates young women on car maintenance basics and safe
   driving strategies.  S2W reaches young women drivers through
   its free CarCare Clinics and at http://www.s2w.org/.