Taking care of a child is intimidating for anyone. There are dozens of mistakes you can make on a daily basis that will impact the way your child grows up.
Leaving a child in a hot car, however, is more than a mistake. Every year, as summer comes around, parents leave their children in hot cars without the windows open, and those children die. It’s never on purpose, but forgetfulness and inattention in 2019 have resulted in the deaths of 22 children in the United States alone. At this point, there’s no such thing as a summer-friendly car for the child that gets left behind.
The automobile industry is now making moves to lower that number. It is an industry, after all, that has spearheaded a number of technological advancements that have, in turn, made life easier and safer for drivers around the world.
So, if you’re driving with kids or pets, there are companies working to ensure that your passengers stay as safe as possible.
Sound over sight
Hyundai, in particular, is leading the charge in this area. As of 2019, the company announced that it was testing an optional ultrasonic rear-seat sensor that will let parents know when they leave their children in the back seat. Hyundai has expressed interested in including this feature in its most popular family cars, thereby ensuring that parents or expecting parents will always know where their children are – at least, while on the road.
The system works about the way you’d expect it to. If someone is in the back of an equipped car, then the system will activate an applicable light on the car’s dashboard. If a person remains in the back of the car after the car doors have been opened and locked, then the car will make an ear-piercing noise, alerting the driver to the presence of passengers who have been left behind.
Following the heels of legislation
Hyundai predicts that it will be able to debut its ultrasonic sensor as soon as 2022. This inclusion, and inclusions by other car manufacturers, comes on the heels of legislation passed by the United States Congress in 2019. This legislation is titled the Hot Cars Act of 2019. It is a bill that declares that new cars offered for sale need to have a reminder system in place that alerts drivers to the presence of someone in the back of their car.
The Senate and the House’s versions of the bill differed in one key area. The Senate declares that any reminder system needs to have a visual and an audio component. The House disagrees, claiming that a visual component will be enough.
Car gadgets for safer driving
While rear seat sensors are the newest technologies designed to make life easier for parent drivers, they’re far from the first. Any to-be parents or parents with excitable children will want to ensure that they have some of the following gadgets on their car:
Mirrors – Mirrors come on every car available on the market today that’s new. Naturally then, you won’t have to worry about ensuring that they’re on your car. However, if you purchase a car second-hand, or if you get into an accident, you should make an effort to replace a broken mirror as quickly as possible. While it is legal to drive with two out of your three mirrors in operation, any parent will want to ensure that all of their mirrors are operational to best protect their children while on the road.
Backup cameras – Backup cameras came to the automotive industry in the early 2000s and remain a boon to drivers everywhere. With the addition of physical sensors, these cameras can help you not only detect any foreign objects behind your car, but the presence of your children as you pull out of your garage or driveway.
Bluetooth technology – Bluetooth technology allows you to do more than just play your favourite playlists while driving. You’ll be able to access your maps, answer phone calls, and otherwise communicate with the other people in your life without having to take your hands off of the steering wheel. Hands-free communication allows you to keep a closer eye on the road, which means you’ll be able to respond to changes in traffic more quickly, keeping your children safe in the process.
Tinted windows – while a number of the aforementioned gadgets seem like no-brainers, tinted windows stand out for their originality. Tinted windows offer your children two additional forms of protection that regular windows do not. These windows prevent over-exposure to the sun, meaning that UV rays won’t be able to burn any of your passengers on long drives. Secondly, tinted windows are sturdier than standard windows. If you do happen to get into an accident, these windows won’t shatter onto your children’s laps as readily as normal windows will.
As you can see, the automotive industry frequently seeks out new ways to ensure the safety of drivers and passengers courtesy of new automotive technologies. Hopefully, with Hyundai’s move towards additional passenger safety, the statistics we see regarding child hot car deaths will lessen over the coming years.