FEATURE/As cellular phone use speeds along, PHH Vehicle Management Services cautions drivers.

HUNT VALLEY, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE FEATURES)--April 25, 1996-- PHH Vehicle Management Services -- one of the nation's foremost fleet and safety/accident managers -- is out to promote and teach safe cellular phone use in automobiles by training its customers to know the rules of the "cellular highway."

As reported by the National Safety Council, automobile accidents are the number one cause of on-the-job accidents. And, statistics from the Highway Loss Data Institute show that the number of accidents reported to insurance companies between 1990 and 1993 have increased 20 percent -- the same time that cellular phone use began to skyrocket.

"We believe there is a correlation between growing cellular phone use and the increased number of accidents," said Peggy Williams, product manager, Accident and Risk Management, PHH. "And, as the cellular phone continues to be a business productivity tool, we anticipate that more and more motorists will be taking their hands and eyes off the road."

PHH, which tracks and analyzes various driving trends, has been looking at cellular phone use as a critical component to safety and accident avoidance training. The safest way to use a cellular phone, of course, is to pull off the road before making a call.

"We encourage all of our customers to invest in `hands-free' or `voice-activated' equipment as the second best accident prevention measure to prepare for situations when people must use cellular phones in their cars and can not pull into a safe, legal area to make the call," said Williams.

Today, approximately 50 percent of the more than 80 companies enrolled in or considering using PHH's cellular phone program use "hands-free" systems. PHH is continuously researching the quality and benefits of new devices and tracking the cause of accidents in order to provide customers with the most current and informative assistance.

"For those drivers who have already invested in other systems, however, PHH Vehicle Management Services has several cellular phone safe driving tips that will allow motorists the convenience of their phones while maintaining control of their vehicles," said Williams.

PHH offers the following advice to the drivers handling the 470,000 vehicles it manages for safe cellular phone use in automobiles:

o Use hands-free equipment or the telephone's speaker function

o Be familiar with the telephone's controls so that you can easily

press buttons without taking eyes off the road

o Don't distribute your number to everyone -- incoming calls can be

startling 

o If your phone rings while you are in traffic or hazardous

conditions, let voice mail answer it. If you don't have voice mail,

don't worry, the person will probably call back or leave a message

for you elsewhere

o Use voice mail to take notes or record reminders rather than

attempting to write while driving

o Check mirrors every four to five seconds while talking

o Store frequently-dialed numbers in memory in order to dial them

quickly

PHH Vehicle Management Services is a leading global vehicle management company. It has pioneered the development of several vehicle, accident and safety programs that provide value-added services to its clients. The company manages some 470,000 vehicles each year for a variety of clients such as Kodak, Johnson & Johnson, Hewlett Packard, DuPont and Texaco, Inc. It is an operating unit of PHH Corp. (NYSE:PHH), Hunt Valley, Md.

CONTACT: Kerr Kelly Thompson 

Carolina Mata, 203/622-1723, ext. 303