Our Mission
A major focus of NCAST is promoting awareness of safety issues specific to younger motorists.
Teen drivers are especially at risk on the roads, with vehicle crashes the leading cause of death in America among those under 21.
The inexperience and impulsiveness of teen drivers is a significant reason for their high crash rates, making important the safety features of the vehicles they drive as well as getting plenty of supervised driving practice.
News, Events & Initiatives
NCAST’s Teen Ambassadors are wrapping up their school years, and we appreciate them! It’s great to see students get involved – especially on an issue that can affect them so seriously.
Learn who our 2026 Scholarship Recipents are, and read their letters to the editor in their local newspapers advocating for safe driving inititatives.
Teen Ambassador Trey Laurore explains why it’s important to him to make sure his friends and classmates understand the basics of being safe behind the wheel …
Our free monthly email newsletter provides a quick review of the latest traffic safety news and events— both in North Carolina and from across the country…
Watch to learn about our mission and how we make an impact—promoting safe driving habits, saving lives, and reducing traffic-related injuries in NC…
Wildlife crashes cost over $10 billion and 200 lives in the U.S. every year. Wildlife crossings are a cost-effective solution that help protect animals drivers from collisions…
SPOTLIGHT:
No amount of time is safe.
More than 1,000 children have died of heatstroke, because they were left or became trapped in a hot car over the past 25 years. It’s important for everyone to understand these tragedies can happen to anyone — but are always preventable.
- A child’s body temperature rises three to five times faster than an adult’s. When a child is left in a vehicle, that child’s temperature can rise quickly — and the situation can quickly become dangerous.
- Heatstroke begins when the core body temperature reaches about 104 degrees. Death occurs at a core body temperature of 107 or above.
- In 2025, 31 children died of heatstroke in vehicles.
- In 2018 and 2019, we saw a record number of hot car deaths — 53 children died each year — the most in at least 25 years, according to NoHeatstroke.org.
To learn more, visit this link…





















