Power Window Switch
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Updated: 12:01 PM Mar 1, 2005
Power Window Switch
A Kansas mom has an unlikely ally in her efforts to make power window switches in cars safer for kids.
Posted: 6:16 PM Jan 23, 2004
Reporter: Sahar El-Hodiri
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A Kansas mom believes a simple switch would save children's lives from a danger in cars.

Now she has a strong voice helping her get the message out --- that power windows overpower kids.

Britt Gates is a mom out to honor her daughter's memory through the Zoie Foundation. Zoie died when she was two-and-a-half, strangled by a car's power window.

Britt Gates says, "Ultimately, I just want all parents to know what I didn't, and that is that power windows overpower kids."

In its latest push, the Zoie Foundation teamed up for commercials with an unlikely ally: a car dealership.

Davis-Moore President Dawson Grimsley says, "We're selling these cars that have some of these unsafe power switches in them and we are kind of taking a risk but what the heck it's worth it if we can save one little kids life it's worth it."

The new campaign reaches over two-thirds of the state. It also features rear view mirror tags on all cars Davis-Moore sells, and window stickers.

Britt is asking for a change in federal regulations to get rid of rocker switches, that are easy for a child like Zoie to accidentally activate, and use toggle switches for power windows instead.

Britt says, "To roll the car window up you physically have to pull the switch up."

Britt's petition with the National Traffic Safety Administration has been on the docket since last January. She's hopeful the group is taking a closer look at the issue.

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