Ford Motor Company Fund, PASSES EDGE Team Up to Help Prevent Teen Vehicle Crashes in Michigan

DETROIT, Mich. – April 19, 2007 - Ford Motor Company Fund, the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company, has announced that Parents for Student Safety Employment Standards (PASSES), has adopted its Driving Skills for Life curriculum as part of the teen job safety program it shares with high school students in nearly 100 Michigan school districts.

"Nearly 7,000 teens die annually in automobile crashes in the United States and remains the leading cause of teen death nationally," said James Graham, manager, Ford Motor Company Fund. "Driving Skills for Life fits seamlessly into the PASSES job safety curriculum and we are proud to be involved in such a worthwhile program.

Developed by Ford Motor Company Fund in partnership with the Governors Highway Safety Association, Driving Skills for Life is a training initiative to help teens become more experienced drivers. The comprehensive program incorporates the four driving skills experts have identified as having the most promise of preventing crashes: Hazard Recognition, Vehicle Handling, Speed Management and Space Management.

Driving Skills for Life provides effective learning tools, including a comprehensive interactive Web site, www.drivingskillsforlife.com , which rewards students for taking the initiative to learn safe driving techniques. Several new learning modules are being introduced in 2007, including a car care module designed to assist teens who encounter vehicle problems on the road. Materials and ride & drives are free to students, parents and educators.

”PASSES is pleased to be a part of the Driving Skills for Life expansion,” said Donna Weaver, president of PASSES. “Driving and job safety are top priorities of parents and educators who are sending their teens for the first time onto the roads and into the workplace.”

PASSES, Parents for Student Safety Employment Standards, is a national leader in teaching job safety to teens. Through grants and sponsorships from organizations such as Ford Motor Company Fund, PASSES presented its 90-minute classroom safety program to nearly 20,000 high school students last year in Michigan and nine other states.

"Teens are twice as likely as adults to be injured on the job because of their relative unfamiliarity with hazards," Weaver said. Approximately 70,000 teens nationally require an emergency-room visit as a result of a job related injury.

Parents for Student Safety Employment Standards (PASSES) gives its students an edge by teaching them safe chemical-handling, proper lifting techniques, retail safety, hazard recognition and proper use of personal protective equipment. The fast-paced curriculum, called PASSES EDGE, uses videos, photos and a liquid nitrogen demonstration to keep students engaged.

For more information on PASSES, visit www.passesedge.org

Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services is committed to creating opportunities that promote corporate citizenship, philanthropy, volunteerism and cultural diversity for those who live in the communities where Ford does business. Established in 1949 and made possible by Ford Motor Company profits, Ford Motor Company Fund supports initiatives and institutions that foster innovative education, auto-related safety, and American heritage and legacy. National programs include Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies, which provides high school students with academically rigorous 21st century learning experiences, and Driving Skills for Life, a teen-focused auto safety initiative. The Ford Volunteer Corps, established in 2005, continues Ford's legacy of caring worldwide. Through the Volunteer Corps, salaried employees, union members, retirees and their families participate in a wide range of volunteer projects in their communities. For more information on programs made possible by Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services, visit www.ford.com.


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