GMC launches Rear Seat Reminder feature

June 17th, 2016  |  Auto

A new feature in GMC’s 2017 Acadia seeks to reduce the amount of children dying after being accidentally left in cars.

With the temperature rising as we move into summer the risk of children dying after being left in hot cars also increases. A new feature called Rear Seat Reminder will simply alert drivers with both an audio alarm and a dashboard notification to remember to check their rear seats before running out to work or go shopping. Autoblog reports that the feature activates when it detects that the rear doors have been opened within 10 minutes of the vehicle starting or while the vehicle is running.

The system doesn’t use sensors to actually identify if something is on the seat or not. It also doesn’t measure internal or external temperatures when it comes to making the reminder. While extreme heat is the most dangerous for children, there are circumstances where children die in cold temperatures or when a day may seem mild, but the internal temperature gets much higher when left for a long time.

The feature is well suited to helping parents and guardians avoid accidentally leaving a child in the backseat, but it might not be very effective for people who are intentionally leaving children behind not thinking that they will be gone long enough for any danger. Hopefully the reminder will be enough to remind drivers that there’s never any reason to leave a child in a hot car for any period of time.