Nissan recently announced the introduction of a new system that will remind you if you might have left something in the back seat after you get out, like a child or animal. Hyundai has now announced a similar Rear Occupant Alert system, which is meant to alert drivers if they might have left a child in the back seat.
Nissan’s system monitors the opening and closing of rear doors to decipher if there could be precious cargo in the back seat. Hyundai’s system is a bit more advanced, since it monitors the rear seats using an ultrasonic sensor that helps to detect the movements of children.
The system first reminds drivers to check the rear seats when exiting the vehicle with a message on the center instrument cluster display. If the system detects movement in the rear seats after the driver leaves the vehicle it will honk the horn, flash the lights and send a Blue Link alert to the driver’s smartphone via Hyundai’s Blue Link connected car system.
The new Hyundai Rear Occupant Alert system is meant to prevent children from being forgotten in a car or cases in which a child may accidentally lock themselves in a car. More than 800 children have died from heat-related illnesses in vehicles since 1994 and most of the time the parent was unaware their child was even in the vehicle.
“The Rear Occupant Alert is just another example of how we do things better at Hyundai,” said Mike O’Brien, vice president, product, corporate and digital planning, Hyundai Motor America. “This system is a first step in preventing tragedies. We understand only a brief lapse in judgement and inattention can have terrible consequences.”
The Rear Occupant Alert system will be added to Hyundai’s models starting with the 2019 model year.
Source: Hyundai
