General Motors has announced new technology that could help prevent parents from forgetting children in hot vehicles.
At the debut of the 2017 GMC Acadia, GM introduced a novel feature: This model will let out a small reminder to check rear seats for forgotten items upon exiting the vehicle. While the reminder is intended to help drivers not forget possessions in the back seat, it could theoretically save the lives of children.
“Too many children are inadvertently left behind in vehicles, often with tragic results,” said Mark Reuss, GM product chief. “It’s hard to fathom but it does happen, leading to dozens of fatal heatstrokes in children under 14 every year.”
In 2016, there have already been 12 heatstroke deaths of children left in cars, according to the Department of Meteorology and Climate Sciences at San Jose State University. Between 1998 and 2014, there was an average of 38 U.S. deaths per year in hot cars.
In my opinion, this technology is a great idea. But I’m wondering how effective a reminder to look in the rear seat is going to be if it’s something that happens every single time you shut off the vehicle. Will people’s brains even register this reminder after a while? Or will it just become more background noise in our lives?
It’s hard to say what the impact of such features will be on the tragic hot car deaths that happen in the U.S. each year. But you know what? If something as simple as a verbal reminder can save the life of just one infant or young child sleeping quietly in the back seat on a hot day, then it’s more than worth it.
Screen shot via General Motors
What do you think of this new technology? Do you think it will help prevent hot car deaths?
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