KidsAndCars.org, a 501 (c)(3) national nonprofit is dedicated to saving the lives of children and pets in and around motor vehicles. Vehicle-related accidents are the #1 killer of children in the United States. Almost all of these tragedies are preventable. There is a significant opportunity to protect children and pets by focusing efforts on keeping them safe in and around vehicles through risk identification, engineering changes, and education.

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KidsAndCars.org is devoted to eliminating vehicle-related risks to children and pets through data collection, research and analysis, public education and awareness programs, policy change, product redesign and supporting families to channel their grief into positive change. These everyday events are called nontraffic incidents. They include being run over, hot car deaths, carbon monoxide poisoning, car theft with children/animals inside, falls, knocking cars into gear, drowning from not being able to exit a submerged vehicle, underage drivers, power window strangulation and trunk entrapment, etc.

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Major Accomplishments

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• KidsAndCars.org (KAC) is recognized as the #1 authority on nontraffic incidents that injure and kill children. The team is regularly sought out as experts on all child vehicle safety topics for speaking engagements, conferences, Congressional testimony, media interviews, etc.

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• KAC changed the entire transportation data collection philosophy and structure in the U.S. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is now required to collect nontraffic data. NHTSA’s first report issued in January of 2009 highlighted over 1,700 fatalities and over 840,000 ER visits for vehicle-related injuries that take place on private property every year. This is a positive first step, but more work is required. The data currently being collected is only from five states. Data is needed from all states.

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• KAC has influenced the passage of laws in dozens of states to raise awareness and make it illegal to leave kids alone in cars. Also, Good Samaritan laws are being passed to protect citizens from liability if they rescue a child, pet or adult trapped inside a vehicle.

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