Technology that helps drivers involved in an accident can now be used to help find a
missing child. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and OnStar, the
in-vehicle safety communications system with GPS satellite and wireless technologies,
recently announced a new initiative to find missing children. During an AMBER Alert —
America’s Missing Broadcast Emergency Response used to notify the public of a missing child
— OnStar users now have a direct link to professionals if they see a missing child. OnStar
subscribers can press an emergency button and talk directly to a specially trained group of
advisors who will know how to deal with the situation. OnStar-equipped vehicles give
emergency responders advantages over other methods of reporting a missing child. They are
able to give accurate locations, which in many cases get responders to the scene much
faster than information given by people on cell phones who may be unfamiliar with their
location. Currently, there are about 2.5 million OnStar users in America, giving many added
eyes and ears to help find missing children. Each month, nearly 8,000 crash and emergency
medical calls come in, with nearly 3,000 from “good Samaritan” subscribers who see others
in distress.
OnStar, Center For Missing Children Partner
Originally Published in Trailer Life Magazine
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