Between 1990 and 2018 there were 891 child deaths caused by them being left inside a hot car. Advances in technology over the last few years have allowed automakers to begin installing rear seat alerts in their vehicles, using a variety of innovations to determine whether a seat is occupied and signal to the driver that they should not just walk away from the vehicle.
Members of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of Global Automakers have ratified a voluntary commitment to make rear seat occupant warning systems standard or available in most vehicles by 2025. Currently the Telluride is the only Kia vehicle with the alert system. Kia’s sister company, Hyundai, has already committed to installing the technology in all their vehicles by 2022 and has several models already containing Rear Occupant Alert.
Each automaker has a different approach to the technology. Here’s how Kia’s works.
The 2020 Kia Telluride is on sale now and starts at $31,690.