Rear seat alert system will become standard in the US

In daily life, children are often forgotten in the back seat of the car, resulting in their death. It is heartbreaking to hear such news. Many people blame parents for being too careless, and hope that automakers can provide some "black technology" to avoid tragedies. In fact, some automakers have already begun to develop rear seat passenger alert systems. As early as three years ago, General Motors equipped its models with the "rear seat passenger reminder" function, and then Nissan also launched a similar function. However, it is far from enough for one or two automakers to launch this function. In order to ensure the safety of children in the back seat, the joint participation and efforts of the entire automotive industry are also needed. Recently, major American automakers reached a consensus and planned to install rear seat alert systems for almost all new cars produced in the United States by 2025 .

98% of American cars will be equipped with

The US government has always paid great attention to the safety of children in the back seat of a car. In the past three years, members of the US House of Representatives and Senate have repeatedly discussed the introduction of the "Helping Overcome the Trauma of Children Left Behind in the Back Seat" bill, which requires all new US models in the future to be equipped with sensors and alarm systems to remind drivers to check the back seats, but it has not been passed. In July this year, the US Senate Commerce Committee passed a bill by oral vote, requiring the country's automakers to equip new cars with rear seat passenger alarm systems to remind drivers to check whether they have left their children in the back seat before getting off the car.

Obviously, automakers have walked ahead of legislators. The Global Automakers Association and the National Automobile Manufacturers Alliance, two industry organizations that include almost all automakers in the United States, have jointly promised that all new cars under their members will be equipped with sound and visual warning systems before 2025, but considering that some models need to be redesigned, some cars will be given an additional 12 months. It is reported that the 20 automakers that have joined this plan account for nearly 98% of the US auto market, including General Motors , Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota, Hyundai and Honda. Among them, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) said that it will eventually adopt this technology on all models around the world, not only in the US market, but also in all models around the world, but the specific time will vary by region.

"Automakers have been committed to exploring ways to solve the safety problem of children being forgotten in the back seat, and now the joint statement of major automakers has also demonstrated with practical actions that they will spare no effort to introduce innovative technologies to ensure the safety of children in vehicles." David Schwitters, CEO of the Alliance of Global Automobile Manufacturers, said in a statement, "Automakers have joined together to explore a path forward, which includes not only the sharing and cooperation of existing systems, but also the joint research and development of new technologies."

Car companies join forces to prevent tragedies

Previously, the U.S. Congress has been debating whether it is necessary to make the rear seat reminder system a standard feature of all cars. A U.S. congressman said that an average of 38 children die from heat stroke in cars in the United States each year; in the past 20 years, more than 800 children have died of heat stroke in the United States because they were forgotten in cars. Last year alone, there were 53 such incidents, the year with the highest number of deaths in 20 years.

Data shows that one of the main reasons for such deaths is that parents do not realize how quickly the temperature in a car rises, and they do not know that children's bodies heat up 3 to 5 times faster than adults. According to Safercar.gov, a consumer car safety website under the US Transportation Administration, the temperature inside a car can rise by 6.6°C in 10 minutes, and even if the outside temperature is only 15.6°C, the temperature inside a car can quickly rise to 43.3°C. Whether it is a boy or a girl, a child will die if his body temperature reaches 41.7°C.

Roger Wicker, chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, said in an interview: "The voluntary agreement of automakers makes this legislation less necessary." Under the bill under consideration, NHTSA will develop mandatory regulations and then give automakers at least 2 years to prepare. "But the agreement negotiated by automakers basically meets all our requirements and is earlier than we requested, which is admirable." Wicker said. In addition, Wicker also suggested that states use part of the road safety program funds to educate the public about the risks of leaving children or unattended passengers in the car, and let the U.S. Department of Transportation find a third-party research organization to improve the rear seat safety of existing passenger cars. Some safety advocates pointed out that the current rear seat reminder technology is not perfect enough, and if the driver can't hear the alarm, it will be useless.

Rear Seat Alert Systems Continue to Evolve

In recent years, some automakers have introduced various rear seat alert technologies. For example, General Motors announced in 2016 that more than 20 models would be equipped with rear seat reminder systems. Nissan announced in 2017 that the new Pathfinder would be equipped with the RDA rear seat reminder system and promised to apply it to other models in due course.

General Motors was the first automaker in the U.S. to implement rear-seat occupant alert technology, offering a rear-seat reminder system as optional equipment on the 2017 GMC Acadia. GM's rear-seat alert system is activated if any of the vehicle's rear doors are opened and closed within 10 minutes before the vehicle is started or while in operation ; when the driver turns off the ignition, the system alerts the driver to check the back seat. In addition to the Acadia, the system is now available on some Cadillac, Chevrolet and Buick models. Nissan's rear-seat alert technology detects if the rear seat has been used before and after driving through the rear door switches, then notifies the driver to check through an alert on the dashboard. If that doesn't work, the car horn will sound when the driver leaves the car.

Hyundai Motor recently announced that its new cars will come standard with the Rear Occupant Alert (ROA) door access logic system by 2022, and the Ultrasonic Rear Occupant Alert or sensor-based system as an optional system will also appear on more of its models in the future. The door access logic system monitors the opening and closing of the car's rear doors to determine if someone may be left in the car. The Ultrasonic Rear Occupant Alert system is more advanced. When the driver is about to leave the vehicle, a message will be displayed on the dashboard to remind them to check the back seat. If the driver does not check in time, the car's ultrasonic sensors will detect signs of movement in the back seat when the car is parked and locked, and the horn will sound, the lights will flash, and an alert message will be sent to the driver's smartphone through the Hyundai Blue Link connected car system.