Insights on Cars for Teens, Driver Vision and Driver Rationale Now Available in Edmunds' Safety Conference Library

Ford Sync's Infotainment Leadership Is Eroding, Reports Edmunds' InsideLine.com

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — April 4, 2011 — Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information, has released a wave of new material to its Safety Conference Library, which was launched last month following the company's announcement of a May 24, 2011 safety conference. The conference is expected to facilitate a constructive discourse that will influence car safety policy and product development, and will examine ways to make our roads safer.

Among the new stories posted to the library is Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl's interview with famed behavioral economics professor Dan Ariely. In part one of the interview (http://www.autoobserver.com/2011/03/real-risks-in-getting-behind-the-wheel.html), Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational and The Upside of Irrationality, explains how drivers are irrationally led to believe that driving is an activity that makes them feel like they're fully in control.

"You can be driving on your own, you can make no mistake, and somebody on the other side can decide [something] by mistake or something can hit into you," says Ariely. "You still have no control, but the feeling of control is so powerful. So driving, I think, gives us very much false assurances because we're really feeling that we are in control."

Other new content posted to the safety library include:

• When It Comes to Safety, the Government Can Do More with Less (http://www.autoobserver.com/2011/03/partnering-with-government-for-better-safety-data.html)
  "There is tremendous insight and value that can be realized from marrying the government's comprehensively collected information with private data publishers' ability to find creative, valuable applications for that data, making it powerfully available, analyzing that data, and combining it with other data sources to create even more insight and value, and getting it into the hands of those who value it the most," advises InfoCommerce Founder and Managing Director Russell Perkins.
• Drivers as Good as Their Vision (http://www.autoobserver.com/2011/03/drivers-as-good-as-their-vision.html)
  A recently published study by researchers at Israel's Ben Gurion University concluded drivers 65 and older are half as likely to notice pedestrians and other roadside hazards as drivers in the 21 to 40 age group. This is partly due to diminished peripheral vision. But that isn't the only problem, the study shows: Those 65 and older also are much less likely than younger drivers to pay attention to those pedestrians they do notice, and are slower to react when necessary.
• Spoil Your Teenager in the Name of Safety (http://www.edmunds.com/car-safety/choosing-the-safest-car-for-your-teen-driver.html)
  "It may seem counterintuitive, not to mention costly, but the argument for the 'good' car going to the teen driver makes the most safety sense," counsels USA Today's automotive safety reporter Jayne O'Donnell.
• Do the Most Popular Cars Generate the Most Safety Complaints? (http://www.autoobserver.com/car-data-center/safety/edmundscom-nhtsa-complaints/by-make-safety/)
  More than a million new cars and trucks were sold in March, and you might guess who the sales leaders were — but which automakers earned the most complaints to NHTSA?

For more information on the conference, please visit http://www.autoobserver.com/2011-car-safety-conference/.

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Edmunds publishes Web sites that empower, engage and educate automotive consumers, enthusiasts and insiders. Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information, launched in 1995 as the first automotive information Web site and hosts the most established automotive community online. Its mobile site, accessible from any smartphone at www.edmunds.com, makes car pricing and other research tools available for car shoppers at dealerships and otherwise on the go. InsideLine.com is the most-read automotive enthusiast Web site. Its mobile site, accessible from any smartphone at www.insideline.com, features the wireless Web's highest quality car photos and videos. AutoObserver.com provides insightful automotive industry commentary and analysis. Edmunds is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit. Follow Edmunds.com on Twitter@edmunds and fan Edmunds.com on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/edmunds.