Kids and Car Safety Newsletter
2022 in the Rearview
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As we move into the new year, we are eternally grateful for those who donated to help us exceed our end-of-year fundraising goal of raising $50,000! Below are some of the highlights from our work in 2022 and it's all thanks to YOU, our incredible supporters.
A big thank you to our super hero major donors...
Alan Gregson, Andrew Roszak, Angela Jones, Bill Mullins, Bloomberg, Buckle Me Baby Coats, Carol Kilpaatrick, Conni Lowe, Dalyce Franz, David Walsh, Deborah Aracic, Don Hampton, Dr. David Diamond, Erin Holley, Erin Johnson, First Federal Bank, James Gallo, James Gersing and Marta Magellan, Janet White, Janette & Greig Fennell, Jenessee Beaudoin, Nancy Bridgers and Morgan Bridgers, JGCC B2 team, Judie Galvin, Justin Guernsey, Karena Caputo, Kristin Whitaker, Kristyn Ingram, Laura Beck, the LeChard Family, Lisa Ottendorf, Marjolein Oostrom, Mildred Hoffman, Najla sallum counseling, Nicole Cox, Nicole Engler, Primrose School of Midlothian Village, Progressive Design, Inc., Robert Ranson, Schlanger Family Foundation, Sue Auriemma, Susan Pepperdine, The Murphy Family, William LeChard
and our amazing sponsors…
American Home Safety Products, AsahiKASEI, Buckle Up for Life, CleverElly, Dana James Family Foundation, Florin Roebig Car Crash Attorneys, Freer Logic, Ride & Remind, Safe Ride 4 Kids, State Farm, TEGO Automotive Products, Inc., Toyota, Vayyar, Venturi, LLC, VOXX Automotive.
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Car Seat Technician Online Learning Course: Beyond Car Seat Safety
Kids and Car Safety is offering a brand new interactive online learning course designed specifically for car seat technicians and instructors. The course educates car seat technicians and instructors about little-known dangers to children in and around cars that even seasoned safety professionals might not be aware of. The program will provide you with background on a wide variety of topics as well as practical tips you can share with families. You will also learn hands-on, visual safety demonstrations you can do in your community. This course will count towards your community education requirements for recertification.
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STOP Frontovers Act introduced
Last year, a new Federal bill called the STOP Frontovers Act was introduced by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (CT-D). We have been working closely with his staff on this legislation and will continue to advocate for technology in all vehicles to prevent frontovers just like we did with backovers. Below is a link to our press release about the bill in case you missed it.
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Consumer Reports Petition: Eliminate front Blindzones!
Pickup trucks and SUVs dominate our roadways. And as these vehicles grow in popularity and size, so does the risk to people around them – when drivers unknowingly hit people directly in front of them because of blind zones just past the hood are huge.
The auto industry has the ability to tackle this glaring problem with lower hood heights and technology like pedestrian detection or cameras. But in the majority of pickups and SUVs, they haven’t!
Join with us in calling on automakers to make safety their top priority and fix front-end blindzones now.
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Cars stolen with children alone inside happening at an alarming rate!
Last year, Kids and Car Safety documented at least 264 children who were left alone in a vehicle that was then stolen with them alone in the back seat. Although the victims of these types of incidents typically survive, it is incredibly traumatizing for everyone involved. Incidents like this are very easily avoidable by never leaving a child alone in a vehicle.
Thieves watch for vehicles to be left unattended with the keys inside. Most of the time, they don’t realize that there is a child inside until after they have already stolen the vehicle. Car thefts happen even in the safest neighborhoods. It only takes a few seconds for a car thief to jump into a vehicle and be gone. Learn more.
If you learn about a car theft with children involved, please email us at Amber@KidsAndCars.org so we can be sure to document it. The numbers we report are only cases that we are able to uncover through media report tracking and we are the only group tracking these cases.
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NEW Video PSAS!
Thanks to a generous grant from our friends at State Farm Insurance, Kids and Car Safety has produced a series of 10 new video PSAs to help raise awareness about hot car tragedies, driveway and parking lot safety, car theft with children inside and carbon monoxide poisoning. Below are a few of the new videos.
View all of our PSA videos and more at our YouTube channel HERE
A special thank you to the incredible talent at Frost Media Group for your help in the making of these powerful videos and to the wonderfully talented actors who donated their time! Stay tuned for a new video coming soon on surviving vehicle submersion.
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Child Unknowingly Left in a Hot Car |
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Child gets into hot car, becomes trapped |
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What To Do if You See a Child Alone in a Vehicle |
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Frontovers and Driveway Safety |
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Carbon Monoxide Dangers and Vehicles |
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Backovers and Parking Lot Safety |
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Lifesavers National Conference on Highway Safety Priorities in Chicago |
This year at Lifesavers, Vayyar joined the crew to demonstrate an example of occupant detection technology to prevent hot car deaths.
The demo vehicle featured a baby doll that breathes like a real infant strapped into a car seat in the back seat. The system detected the presence of the baby in the car and initiated an alert on a big TV screen. Visitors to our booth were very excited about the demonstration and about how this technology is readily available to save precious little lives today!
Kids and Car Safety president and founder, Janette Fennell, spoke on a workshop panel talking about hot car death and injury prevention through technology.
And, of course, we found some time to have a little fun too!
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Kansas Transportation Safety Conference |
Amber and Nancy were excited to exhibit at the annual Transportation Safety conference in Kansas.
The crew also celebrated the NCAA national championship win of the KU Jayhawks (Amber’s alma mater) with their fellow Kansans. Rock chalk Jayhawk!
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Study on Hot Car Fatalities: Demographics and legal outcomes
Kids and Car Safety is working with Dr. Elizabeth Borland and Dr. MaryNell Trautner on a study looking at the outcomes of hot car fatalities from a sociological perspective utilizing Kids and Car Safety’ s extensive database. Students Jordan Ekstrom, Cameron Keating and Elizabeth Wood have been working hard to help uncover additional information on responsible party gender, race and legal outcomes. Our president and founder, Janette Fennell was able to visit the university and speak to students. Pictured is Janette with Ms. Borland and the students working on the project.
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Hot Car Press Event April 28 |
Members of Congress, Kids and Car Safety, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Dr. David Diamond, a memory science expert, and families affected by hot car deaths came together to urge U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg to quickly advance the child protection “hot cars” provision in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, Pub. Law 117-58) as quickly as possible. DETECT TO PROTECT!
A few media segments from the event:
Hot car deaths: Advocates call for better technology 13 WMAZ (GA)
A special thank you to Dikeisha Whitlock-Pryer (left) and The Cestia family (right) for sharing their stories at the event in honor of their beautiful children pictured below.
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We get this question regularly so we wanted to review this again. People are confused. Many believe that rear seat reminder technology seen in many cars today (GM, Nissan, Honda, Ford, etc.) is the answer to preventing hot car deaths. But, there are some terrifying limitations to these systems that is critical to understand. In fact, we have already documented 3 fatalities in a vehicle with a rear seat reminder “door logic” system. This system does NOT detect if a child has been left alone in a vehicle. It’s simply an ‘end of trip reminder’ just in case you opened the back door before you leave on your journey.
What is needed is occupant detection, a system that can actually detect the presence of a living, breathing child or pet alone inside a vehicle. The great news is that this technology exists and is readily available to automakers. DETECT TO PROTECT!
Please check out our comparison chart at the link below to better understand where we currently stand with the hot car legislation that passed last year as a part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the differences between the types of technology available. Children will continue to die until we have occupant detection in all vehicles. LEARN MORE
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From the Inside Out: A Reckoning and Redemption
Kids and Car Safety parent advocate, Eric Stuyvesant, recently published a memoir documenting his family's experience with a nearly fatal hot car incident.
Stuyvesant's book serves as more than a cautionary tale as it delves into the extensive injuries Michael suffered as the result of being forgotten in a car, Michael's exhaustive rehab and recovery, and Stuyvesant's own battles with grief, guilt, and depression.
The book is available on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09XSV3M8S. Check it out today! And, thank you to Eric and his wife Michelle for all your hard work and dedication to making this world safer for all children. The Stuyvesant family has been passionately working with Kids and Car Safety for many years.
Please also check out their recent interview and Michael's very first HERE.
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In the News…
Consumer Reports, Published May 3, 2022
Delayed law angers grieving families who lost loved ones
By Susan Hogan, Rick Yarborough, Steve Jones, Lance Ing, Carlos Olazagasti and Derek Debowski • Published February 21, 2022
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The Childproof Your Ride brochure features dangers children face in and around vehicles and provides practical safety tips on how to keep children safe.
NOW AVAILABLE IN SPANISH!
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Available in both English and Spanish, the ‘Look Before You Lock’ cards educate parents about the dangers of children being inadvertently left in vehicles or getting in on their own and provide simple safety tips. Order now
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The 'Look Before You Lock' window decal can be placed on a vehicle window as a reminder to check the back seat for baby. These go great with the 'Look Before You Lock' safety education card to give to parents of young children. Order now
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Kids and Car Safety is a non-profit organization that relies on the generosity of our donors to operate. Please consider becoming a monthly donor or making a one-time gift to support our work keeping children safe! |
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