“Since 1998, nearly 900 children have died from being left in hot cars nationwide.” That’s the stark warning from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as it kicks off its annual annual “Look Before You Lock” pediatric heatstroke prevention campaign.
Hyundai has a technology solution to offer. The automaker offers a rear-seat occupant alert system on many 2021 and 2022 models. There are two separate systems available.
The 2021 Palisade, Santa Fe, Santa Fe HEV, Sonata, Sonata HEV, Elantra, Elantra HEV, and the new 2022 Tucson and Tucson HEV include a standard Rear-Occupant Alert (ROA) system. Hyundai explains, “The ROA door-logic system detects if a rear door was opened or closed when the car was started, then reminds the driver to check the rear seat with a message on the center cluster when exiting the vehicle.”
The 2021 Palisade and Santa Fe, 2022 Tucson, and the 2021 GV80 and G80 from Hyundai’s Genesis luxury division can go a step further. An optional Ultrasonic Rear Occupant Alert system detects motion in the rear seats when the vehicle is off and locked. If it detects movement, it flashes the lights, honks the horn, and sends a message to the owner’s cell phone reminding them to check the rear seat.
The system will be standard on the Santa Fe Hybrid.
According to NHTSA, the temperature of a car’s interior can rise about 20 degrees in just 10 minutes. Even at an outside temperature of 70 degrees, a car’s interior can reach 115 degrees.
