Finally, Car Manufacturers beginning to incorporate "rear seat reminders" to protect child

A new feature found on GMC "Acadia" warns parents that a child might be in the back seat

As reported, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics show that baby heat stroke is the number one reason children under 14 years old die in cars (leading non-crash statistics). A Proposed bill the Hot Car Act of 2016, is still being debated in Congress and if approved, would require car manufacturers to install safety devices in all new cars to warn drivers that there is a child in the back seat.

Well, GMC seems to be the first car company to go ahead and develop this new technology. The car is able to detect when the back door is opened and will sound an alarm if the driver turns off the ignition. A simply electronic warning, combined with a chime. This is an attempt to warn drivers not to leave the child in the back seat. The company states:

"Once the vehicle (the new Acadia) is switched off, Acadia is designed to sound five audible chimes and display a visual message within the instrument cluster's Driver Information Center, which can help remind the driver to take a look at the rear seat before departing."

I congratulate GMC for being the first. We will see in the coming months how effective these new alarms are. Good job GMC!

What do you think? Will these new alarms effectively warn parents about kids in the back seat?