Senate Bill Would Mandate Rear-Seat Reminder Tech

The U.S. Senate has introduced legislation that would require new vehicles to include a rear occupant alert system to help prevent children from being left behind in a vehicle.

The bill would direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to write new rules within two years that require cars to be equipped with “distinct auditory and visual alerts” to remind drivers to check the back seat before exiting a vehicle. Under the proposal, NHTSA also would conduct a study to investigate the feasibility of retrofitting the technology into older vehicles.

The Senate bill is sponsored by Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Democrats Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) and Maria Cantwell (Wash.). Similar legislation is expected to be introduced in the House of Representatives.

Since 1998, an average 37 children die in the U.S. per year from being left inside a hot car. Several carmakers, including General Motors, Hyundai and Nissan, have begun offering rear occupant alert systems in recent years.

However, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers questions whether such technology should be mandated. The industry organization notes that fewer than one in five new car buyers has a six-year-old or younger child.