Nissan develops tech to save kids in hot cars
The U.S. Department of Commerce reports 30 children have already died so far this year in overheated vehicles despite repeated warnings every summer about the risks of hot car deaths. Now, Nissan has come up with a new technology to reduce the risks of hot car deaths.
“I’m a mom, I have two boys, ages three and five, and I would hear these heartbreaking stories on the news about parents leaving their kids in a hot car and it could happen for any number of reasons,” Nissan engineer Elsa Foley told the FOX Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo.
Foley felt there was more that she and the automaker could do to make a difference.
“I knew that as an engineer, I work at Nissan, Nissan makes cars, surely there’s something I can do to help.”
Foley then explained how the technology works, telling Bartiromo, “If you open and close your rear door and then you drive somewhere and you don’t go back and open and close that rear door again , then you’ll get a message in your dashboard that says ‘hey, check the back seat before you leave.’ If you’re distracted and you don’t see that message, then when you get out of the car the horn will honk at you.”
According to Foley, the automaker is supportive of employees to creating innovative solutions if there is a need that is not being filled.
“At Nissan they teach us to innovate, you know, find a need and try to find a solution and I think that’s what we’ve done here.”
Foley said the new technology will be standard in the 2018 Pathfinder.
“It was really important to myself and the team that this be standard because a lot of times with higher technology you have to go up to a higher package, you have to spend money to get that technology.”