Auto makers, advocates wrestle with preventing hot-car deaths
Lawmakers debate what type of technology to mandate after fatalities in recent years
More auto makers are committing to install technology that alerts drivers if they have accidentally left a child in the back seat, but safety advocates and lawmakers say the effort isn’t enough to respond to the recent rise in car-seat fatalities.
Instead, advocates want Congress to pass legislation mandating all car manufacturers make rear-seat monitoring features available on U.S.-sold vehicles. The push comes after a record 52 children died last year of heatstroke after being left behind in vehicles, and 26 so far this year, according to Kids and Cars, a national nonprofit group.
Hyundai Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. last week were the latest auto makers to commit to making technology that reminds drivers to check the back seat before exiting the vehicle. The changes would be available on most of their cars by 2022. Nissan Motor Co. made a similar pledge last year and is offering the rearseat reminders on some models, including its Pathfinder sportutility vehicle and Nissan Altima sedan.
General Motors Co. began offering such systems in 2016 and has installed them on vehicles sold across their U.S. lineup. The technology uses a “door-sequencing logic” to track when the rear door has been opened at the beginning of the trip and whether it was opened again at its conclusion. Subaru Corp. and Kia Motor Co. also offer similar rear-door detection systems on a limited number of models.
Trevor Lai, U.S. product planning manager for Hyundai’s SUVs, said his team wanted to make the technology standard equipment on its models because few buyers at first would think they need it and pick it as option.
“People are going to say, ‘Who’s going to leave their kid in the back of a hot car?’” Mr. Lai said. “But we’re working longer and harder than ever so these things might slip your mind.”
Hyundai also has introduced new sensors that detect if someone is in the back when the engine is off, and uses the car’s lights, horns and text messages to alert the driver or passersby. The sensors are available now on the Santa Fe and Palisade SUVs as part of an optional package, and the car company said last week it will offer the feature on more models in the coming years.
The House and Senate are considering separate bills to mandate the technology across all new vehicles but differ in the kind of system they would require.
Safety groups say the problem needs more regulation and an industrywide fix, arguing the solution most auto makers are providing today isn’t sufficient because it can reset itself when the car is turned off, which happens if a driver stops for gas.
Rather, they have thrown their support behind the House bill requiring new cars be able to detect an occupant in the back seat, like the one used by Hyundai.
These detection systems won’t only help prevent rear-seat fatalities but also the roughly 25% of heatstroke cases where children get into cars on their own and find themselves trapped.
The Senate bill requires only the rear-door detection technology.
“Every vehicle you buy today either automatically turns your headlights off or reminds you,” said Janette Fennell, president of Kids and Cars. “Why is it more important to not have a dead car battery than a dead child?”
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents 12 of the largest American and foreign-brand car makers, said it is carefully reviewing the bills.
In May, the alliance published a statement saying public-awareness campaigns would be more effective than a mandate, arguing fewer than 13% of new-car buyers have small children and it would take about 20 years for all cars on the road to have the technology at the current rates of turnover.
GM said it supports the Senate’s efforts and hopes the two chambers can work together to find a solution.
Ford Motor Co. said it supports the principle of the bill and will continue to work with congressional committees on vehicle safety legislation. While it doesn’t currently offer rear-seat reminder technology in North American-sold cars, the auto company said it is researching effective approaches to the issue.
Other auto makers, including Nissan and Toyota Motor Corp., either declined to comment on the legislation or referred comment to the alliance.
Cathy Chase, president of the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, a nonprofit backing the House legislation, said publicservice campaigns do little to affect people who think they would never forget a child or a pet in the car in the first place.
“Public education on hot cars is at an all-time high, and yet children continue to perish,” Ms. Chase said.
The problem mostly stems from flaws in basic human memory, not lack of awareness, said David Diamond, a professor of psychology at the University of South Florida who has studied the issue. Often, in these cases, parents slip into a routine, and can forget the presence of children, especially if they are out of sight in a rear-facing child seat.
“The parent goes into what we call autopilot mode, driving somewhere on the basis of habit,” Mr. Diamond said.