Nissan unveils solution to hot car deaths

Nissan has unveiled technology that could help to mitigate instances of hot car deaths in Australia and around the world.

As the US endures near-record numbers of hot car infant deaths, a pair of Michigan-based engineers has developed a system which uses “door sequence logic”, a driver instrument panel display message and the vehicle’s horn to remind drivers to check the rear seat after the vehicle is parked.

The system is similar to that fitted to the GMC Acadia, which will be re-badged as a Holden Acadia in Australia.

In Nissan guise, the technology has been slated for the US-specification seven-seat 2018 Pathfinder models. It is not known whether Australian models will be included.

“The new Rear Door Alert (RDA) system can help remind Nissan owners to check the rear seat by using a series of distinctive honks as the driver is walking away from the vehicle,” Nissan says in a press release.

“RDA monitors the rear door switches to detect their open/closed status prior to and after a trip. If the system detects that a rear door was opened/closed prior to a trip, but then was not re-opened again after the trip was completed, given the vehicle was put in park and the ignition cycled off, the system responds with a series of notifications, starting with a display in the instrument panel and progressing to subtle but distinctive chirps of the horn.”

One of the engineers behind the initiative, Marlene Medoza, a mother of three, said she helped developed the technology using her own experiences.

"The idea is if you open a rear door, whether to put a child or a package in the rear seat, the vehicle will help alert you when you get to your destination that you may want to check the rear seat," said Mendoza.

"We've built in enough time that you don't have to rush, but if you don't open the rear door again when you get out of the vehicle, we want you to think for a moment about what you may have put in the back seat."

Nissan says the RDA technology is configurable to distinguish a gym bag thrown in the rear seat to a child or pet, and can be switched off altogether using the prompts in the driver instrument cluster.

Instances of children and pets being left in a hot vehicle are still very real in Australia. Despite being illegal to leave a child unattended in a vehicle, it is estimated that over 5000 children are rescued annually after being left unattended in a car.

According to Ambulance Victoria figures, November through to March is the busiest period for callouts – an average of five a day – with 45 per cent of those occurring between 11am and 3pm, when daily temperatures typically peak.

In the US, Eleven children have died in hot cars this month, taking the death toll there to 29 this year.