GM Adds Rear Seat Reminder to 20 Models, Targets Subpar Parents
General Motors’ Rear Seat Reminder technology, designed to alert drivers to check the back seat when exiting their vehicles, will be offered on a multitude of Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC vehicles by the 2018 model year.
Having made its debut in the 2017 GMC Acadia earlier this year, the technology aims to prevent heatstroke-related deaths and reduce the number of children left unattended in parking lots.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration lists heatstroke as one of the leading causes of non-traffic vehicle-related fatalities for children under fourteen. According to KidsAndCars.org, that works out to an average of 37 fatalities per year. The majority of the time, those children were simply forgotten in the back.
GM’s Rear Seat Reminder works by monitoring the vehicle’s rear doors. The feature activates whenever a rear door is opened and closed within 10 minutes before the vehicle is started, or if they are opened and closed while the vehicle is already running. When the vehicle is turned off after a door activation, the system sounds five audible chimes and a display message reminder drivers to “Look in Rear Seat.”
Still, you have to wonder if a succession of not incredibly urgent tones is enough to grab someone’s attention. I once spent twenty minutes in an Uber where the driver effectively ignored the seatbelt chime for the trip’s duration. It’s also worth noting that the system doesn’t actually sense items or people in the rear seat. It can only recognize if the rear doors were opened and shut prior to setting off.
While it’s despicable that we exist in a reality where there is a calling for this type of technology, if it saves a single life, it will have been worth implementing.
“This new technology developed by General Motors will give busy parents and caregivers the important reminder to always check the back seat,” said Kate Carr, president and CEO of Safe Kids Worldwide in a statement. “The safest way to protect a child from heatstroke is to never leave a child unattended in a vehicle, and features like Rear Seat Reminder, coupled with continued public education, can help combat this preventable tragedy.”
Since the technology is an industry-first safety feature, don’t be surprised to see similar systems cropping up on other brands — but not before it arrives on slew of updated offerings from General Motors. If you happen to be a self-absorbed or criminally forgetful person with children, these are the cars for you:
2017 Buick Lacrosse
[Images: General Motors]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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I understand there is a setting to turn the feature off; it's labeled "deplorable mode". Since the hoopleheads refuse to abort, procreate with abandon, and the proliferation of alcohol/tobacco/sugar/red meat is not having the intended Darwin effect of limiting the expanding ignoramus population, this may help. Seriously, kudos to GM for adding a nifty little feature at little or no cost. I recently rented a 2017 Chevy Cruze that had the feature and found it and the apple-play to be two very useful features on a otherwise very mundane car.
" recently rented a 2017 Chevy Cruze that had the feature and found it and the apple-play to be two very useful features on a otherwise very mundane car." GM managed to ruin what was one of their only competitive (I'd say "good") vehicles relative to the class (compact sedans)? I really liked the last gen Cruze; it felt better built, far more solid and far more refined than the Civic, and especially the Corolla, Sentra & Elantra. It had a mini-Audi aesthetic to it, also. It was one of the few GM products that was not just good, but probably the best vehicle in its segment. It stands to reason that GM probably ruined it.