Teenagers Hit the Road Armed By New Safe-Driving Teaching Techniques; Allstate Foundation, Freeway Watch, Sierra On-Line Join Efforts to Enhance Utah's Driver Education Courses

Business Wire, Sept 1, 1998

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 1, 1998--

Press Conference -- Utah State Capitol, Governor's Board Room

September 1, 1998, 11:15 a.m.

The Allstate Foundation, Freeway Watch and Sierra On-Line today announced a strategy to increase safe driving behavior and decrease drunk driving among Utah teenagers by the year 2002.

This strategy includes statewide initiatives for empowering citizens to recognize and report drunk drivers and for adopting a new, interactive teaching tool for Utah high school driver's education courses by 2002.

Before the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, 120,000 teenagers will complete their high school driver education courses and hit the road. Increased road and freeway construction in preparation for the Olympics has created statewide adverse driving conditions, increased accident risk and fostered road rage in frustrated drivers. This partnership will put new teaching techniques in the hands of Utah's driver's education instructors to prepare Utah's newest drivers for these adverse conditions.

Sandra Daumke, Regional Corporate Relations Manager for the Allstate Insurance in the Phoenix Region, will present a donation to Suzanne Peterson, Freeway Watch President, to purchase 150 copies of Driver's Education `99 from Sierra On-Line, part of the Cendant Software family, for high school driver education teachers throughout Utah. The Allstate Foundation plans to include Driver's Education `99, a risk-free 3D driving simulation for the PC, in all Utah high school driver education curriculums in order to increase and promote safe and defensive driving behavior among teens.

Driver's Education `99 takes beginning drivers through the understanding and comprehension of safe driving techniques to confidently get behind the wheel. Driver's Education `99 tracks a user's behavior and re-enforces safe driving techniques with over 70 extensively researched lessons, written tests customized with 1999 traffic safety laws and regulations for all 50 states and a Virtual City for 3D driving. New lessons covered include graduated licensing and road rage. Chapter 12 on "Alcohol and Other Drugs" includes a lesson from Freeway Watch on how to spot drivers who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Driver's Education `99 includes a strong deterrent to underage drinking with the only PC based drunk driving simulator in Chapter 12 covering alcohol and drugs.

Utah Lt. Governor Olene Walker will read a Proclamation entitled "Operation 2002: Youth Safe Driving." This proclamation urges citizens to make Utah a safer place to live, work and raise a family by learning how to recognize and report DUI drivers and teaching youth safe driving behavior.

Mary Phillips, MADD Vice-President Utah Chapter, will talk about her daughter Lizz who was killed by a drunk, unlicensed sixteen-year-old driver. There will be a demonstration of Driver's Education `99 and the Freeway Watch web page: http://www.freewaywatch.org.

Driver's Education `99 will be available in September on CD-ROM for Windows `98/Windows `95 with a street price of around $29.95. You can order Driver's Education '99 through Sierra Direct at 800/757-7707 or look for it at any software retailer.

Cendant is the world's premier provider of consumer and business services. Cendant operates in three principal segments: Alliance Marketing, Travel and Real Estate Services. Headquartered in Parsippany, NJ, the company has more than 40,000 employees, operates in over 100 countries and makes approximately 100 million customer contacts annually.

CONTACT: Freeway Watch

Suzanne Peterson, 435/654-5095

freewaywatch@shadowlink.net

or

Sierra On-Line

Michelle Stephens, 541/334-4914

michelle.stephens@sierra.com