Lewes, Delaware (May16, 2007) --- Floor It…But Not On The Highway, a highway safety public awareness campaign launched by the O.C. Floor Gallery last year in Maryland, is expanding into Delaware with the help of Beebe Medical Center, Beebe Medical Foundation, Sussex County EMS (Emergency Medical Services) and Delaware State Police. A planned kickoff is scheduled for May 24th, to recognize several other highway safety events including National EMS Week, May 20-26, and Operation C.A.R.E. (Combined Accident Reduction Effort) which are timed to coincide with the long Memorial Day holiday that begins on the last weekend in May.

“This partnership will give us tremendous reach into every community where public attention will be focused on the need to share the highway safely,” stated Chris Williams, president, O.C. Floor Gallery. “Our goal is simple: we want to help save lives.”

Beebe Medical Center, a not-for-profit, community-owned hospital based in Lewes, is lending its support for this campaign based on the need to help reduce the number of motor vehicle crashes and the deaths and injuries occurring on Delaware highways.

“Floor It…But Not On The Highway gives us an excellent opportunity to inform and educate the public about the dangers of aggressive driving and how quickly lives can change in a crash,” said Jeffrey M. Fried, FACHE, President and CEO of Beebe Medical Center. “The best way to avoid a crash is to prevent one.”

The O.C. Floor Gallery launched Floor It…But Not On The Highway in Ocean City, Maryland last spring as a community outreach effort to focus the traffic safety spotlight on drivers, bicyclists, pedestrians, teens and children. The campaign in Maryland was launched in early May during the annual Cruisin Ocean City weekend, which brought hundreds of vintage cars and car club members to the resort preceding the long Memorial Day holiday weekend that traditionally marks the official start of the summer driving season. Cruisin Ocean City this year starts this week.

Working with the Delaware (Governor’s) Office of Highway Safety and Delaware State Police, Floor It…But Not On The Highway will be featured in a full-color brochure that will offer important highway safety tips and driver information on aggressive driving, safety belt and child safety seat use, pedestrian and bicycle safety. The theme will also be displayed on banners, billboards and other high-profile locations throughout the Delmarva area to heighten public awareness.

O.C. Floor Gallery is also targeting the eastern shore leg of the statewide trauma network in Maryland that includes Peninsula General Regional Trauma Center and the Maryland State Police med-evac helicopter system for their support of the campaign. Working with pre-hospital care providers on the ground, Maryland and Delaware State Police flight paramedics often serve as the life-line between the eastern shore and regional trauma centers, including Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware and the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

“We see the mangled wreckage, the twisted steel and broken glass of car crashes every day, and sadly, most of these crashes can be avoided,” said Glenn Luedtke, Director, Sussex County Emergency Medical Services. “What’s worse, aggressive driving is often blamed.” The county will recognize field care providers during a proclamation ceremony during National EMS Week (May 20-26).

Delaware State Police have identified aggressive driving as the number one highway safety priority. Working with local law enforcement agencies, troopers will be stepping up patrols in search of motorists who fail to share the highway safely. Police are also keeping a close eye on pedestrian crosswalks to help avoid the tragedies that can occur when pedestrians, especially young children, dart into traffic outside designated crosswalks. Police will be paying special attention to the areas near the coastal resorts where pedestrian traffic tends to be higher.

Floor It…But Not On The Highway will air on special public service announcements that will promote safe and efficient travel. The public service announcements will be shared with Great Scott Broadcasting, Clear Channel Radio and Comcast Spotlight. The O.C. Floor Gallery will also be airing special announcements on WGMD Radio in Rehoboth Beach (DE), using its popular Morning Trivia programming on the Dan Gaffney Show to quiz morning commuters on traffic law and important highway safety facts.

For more information, please contact Chuck Jackson at the O.C. Floor Gallery, (302) 644-4949, or by email, cjackson@ocfloorgallery.com