Memorial Day Safety Alert: 10 Simple Tips for Avoiding ROAD RAGE as Summer Drivers Clog Nation's Roads

54% of Drivers Say They've Been a Victim of Road Rage; 78% Say They've Witnessed a Road Rage Incident

Autobytel's 'Take the Pledge to Slow Down' Safe-Driving Program Helps Drivers 'Keep Their Cool' as Temperatures Soar, Roads Choke, and Tempers Flare

LOS ANGELES, May 26 -- What:  This Memorial Day weekend will officially kick off a summer
          driving season during which American drivers will log over one
          trillion miles on our nation's increasingly congested, chaotic
          roads.  Throw in some screaming kids, heavy road construction
          activity, and scorching temperatures -- and it all adds up to a
          'perfect storm' for Road Rage.  To help drivers stay cool,
          collected -- and in one piece! -- this summer, Autobytel's "Take
          the Pledge to Slow Down" safe-driving program has published
          10 simple tips for avoiding road rage.

   Why:   54% of the drivers who responded to a snap poll conducted on
          Autobytel.com said they've been the victim of a road rage
          incident, and 78% say they've witnessed an incident of road rage.
          And the problem is growing.  Since 1990, traffic incidents
          involving violence have increased 7 percent a year.  Road rage is
          also a factor in untold accidents caused by speeding and rash
          decision-making.  It's anticipated that nearly 500 Americans will
          die this Memorial Day Weekend in traffic accidents, and that an
          additional 25,000 will suffer disabling injuries.  Memorial Day
          kicks off what AAA describes as the '101 Deadliest Days on the
          Road' -- the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day, during
          which an average of 13,000 people die annually in traffic
          collisions.

Autobytel's "Take The Pledge to Slow Down" Presents 10 Tips For Avoiding Road Rage

   1.  When in doubt, let the other car go first.
   2.  Follow all traffic signs and indicators.
   3.  Give pedestrians the right of way.
   4.  Allow others to pass you by moving to right lanes.
   5.  Use your turn signal to indicate that you want to change lanes.
   6.  Maintain plenty of space between your car and the vehicle ahead.
   7.  Do not yell or make obscene gestures.
   8.  Try not to use your horn or high beams.
   9.  Be polite to other drivers
   10. Take the Pledge to Slow Down

For Autobytel's full 'Road Rage' report, including more tips for avoiding stressful driving situations, log onto www.autobytel.com/content/shared/articles/templates/index.cfm/article_id_int/5 41

For comprehensive safe summer driving tips and articles, visit Autobytel's "Take the Pledge to Slow Down" page at www.autobytel.com/content/research/index.cfm?id=4;ABTL&action=showArticle&aid= 138211

There visitors can also "Take the Pledge" to drive safely and courteously on neighborhood streets as the dangerous summer driving season heats up.

About Take the Pledge to Slow Down

Founded to combat speeding on neighborhood streets, Take the Pledge to Slow Down is a grassroots movement that depends on the power of individual activists across the country -- coupled with the power of the Internet -- to encourage drivers to take personal responsibility for their driving. Autobytel Inc.'s Take the Pledge offers a comprehensive Take the Pledge area on its consumer websites (www.autobytel.com, www.autoweb.com and www.carsmart.com), where concerned citizens can "Take the Pledge," access safe driving tips, find information and links, download Take the Pledge materials -- and join Autobytel's fight for safer neighborhood streets and saved lives. Take the Pledge to Slow Down has been supported by safety advocates and government bodies nationwide, including M.A.D.D. (Mother's Against Drunk Driving), Put the Brakes on Fatalities, the Charlotte, NC Police Department, the Los Angeles and Washington D.C. City Councils and the California Governor's office.