Education / Public Awareness
KidsAndCars.org (KAC) was the first organization to recognize and bring national attention to nontraffic incidents. ‘Nontraffic’ defined as any vehicle related injury or death occurring off public roads or highways, mainly in parking lots or driveways.
Representatives/volunteers with KAC educate the public via extensive media coverage, safety conferences, exhibit at safety fairs, schools and other community events in order to educate parents, caregivers and other safety professionals about these dangers.
KAC also exhibits annually at the national LifeSavers Safety Conference on highway and auto safety.
KidsAndCars.org educates the public by;
- Offering education materials such as brochures, BlindZone awareness kits, window clings, etc. which are available via the website’s online store.
- Providing free downloadable and printable fact sheets, safety tips, charts, graphics, images, etc. via the website.
- Supporting over 300 community advocacy programs with education materials, statistics, and organizational support to raise awareness about nontraffic incidents.
- Distributing the Look Before You Lock child safety education materials to new parents via hospitals, birthing centers and injury prevention agencies nationwide. This vital information helps educate parents about the dangers of leaving children alone in a vehicle at the very beginning of their child’s life.
- Airing national Public Service Announcements (PSAs) EVERY day to educate consumers about the dangers of leaving children alone in or around vehicles, how large the blindzones are behind all vehicles and dangers most parents don’t know about involving power windows.
- Collaborating with the media to produce riveting articles such as the Pulitzer Prize winning article, “Fatal Distraction,” a must read.
- Testifying before Congress. Janette Fennell and KidsAndCars.org parent advocates bring child safety issues to the attention of our leaders in Washington, DC.
- Appearing on programs such as Good Morning America, Dateline, Oprah, NPR, the TODAY Show, CNN, NBC Nightly News and countless other news media outlets nationwide and even internationally. These appearances bring a heightened awareness to the dangers children face in and around vehicles. Ms. Fennell and parent advocates are sought out by the media for information and interviews about nontraffic incidents.
- Publishing studies co-authored by Janette Fennell. Examples include: “The Power of Survivor Advocacy: Making Car Trunks Escapable,” which appeared in the Injury Prevention Journal, the publication “Channeling Grief into Policy Change,” a CDC funded project and “Trauma Center-Based Surveillance of Nontraffic Pedestrian Injury among California Children,” published in the Western Journal of Emergency Medicine.
KidsAndCars.org has been and will remain in the forefront of raising awareness about the dangers children face in and around vehicles. KAC will continue to fuel a social norm change until America’s children are safe.
