Kidsafe Victoria praises rear-seat reminders

General Motors in the US has introduced a 'Rear Seat Reminder' for its 2017 model year GMC Acadia SUV – and the initiative has won it plaudits from Kidsafe Victoria.

"While technology can't solve the issue of children left unattended in cars on its own, advancements like this can help to provide a reminder to busy parents and carers" said Jason Chambers, the local child safety authority's general manager.

Described as an 'industry first', the Rear Seat Reminder in the Acadia monitors rear doors and lets the driver know at the conclusion of a journey to check the rear seat if the vehicle's rear doors were opened within a 10-minute window of the journey commencing. The reminder consists of five audible chimes and a message ("Rear Seat Reminder / Look in Rear Seat") displayed in the instrument binnacle.

"Acadia drivers live busy lives with demanding schedules, and the Rear Seat Reminder helps protect the things we care about most,” said Tricia Morrow, GM global safety strategy engineer.

"Whether it's your lunch, laptop, pet or most importantly, your child, it's easier than it seems to forget what's in the back seat when moving between life's events. With this new feature, we are leading the charge to address this ongoing problem."

It's a sensible idea that has been a long time coming – and we're still waiting for it to catch on here in Australia. During the 12 months between September 2014 and the end of August 2015, paramedics in Victoria were called out over 1400 times to attend kids suffering from heatstroke after being left in cars by their guardians. Nor is it a problem that's going away.

And since 1998, nearly 700 kids have died from vehicle-related heatstroke in the USA. More than half those deaths were the result of the child being left in a car.