New U.S. Senate Bill Looking to Require Rear-seat Alerts

Rear-seat alerts may not look like a big deal, but it’s a form of technology that could possibly save a child’s life. Hence, a U.S. Senate bill is looking at mandating rear-seat alerts for new cars in the future.

Republican Sen. Roger Wicker recently filed Senate Bill 1601, temporarily referred to as “A bill to direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue a rule requiring all new passenger motor vehicles to be equipped with a child safety alert system, and for other purposes.”

The bill currently has two cosponsors — Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Maria Cantwell. A House version of the bill will reportedly be introduced in the near future.

Once enacted, the Department of Transportation will have to mandate the installation of rear-seat reminders for all new cars to be manufactured in the coming years. Although the text of the bill has not been published yet, a report from Reuters said it would require “a distinct auditory and visual alert,” as well as a study to investigate whether older cars could be retrofitted with the same technology.

Among all automakers in the industry, General Motors is known to be the champion of the said system since the brand first introduced Rear Seat Reminder in 2016. The technology notes if a rear door was opened before driving commenced. If a door was opened, the driver will be alerted to check the back seat. Nissan also has a similar system and immediately made it standard on some of the brand’s popular models.

However, reports say not everyone is on board the regulation. According to the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, “less than 13% of new car buyers have a child six years old or younger”. Statistics published earlier this year also show that a bigger problem is the rise of hot-car deaths despite alert systems being installed on new cars.