A new monitoring system could help prevent the deaths of children left in cars that become too hot in summer.
A new monitoring system could help prevent the deaths of children left in cars that become too hot in summer.
Ford and General Motors are developing sensors that would detect the breathing of a child, monitor ambient temperature and alert parents or people in the vicinity if the car’s interior got too hot.
GM began working on this technology while researching incidents of children accidentally trapped in car boots. The company developed a trunk latch to help them escape.
A spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said hatch releases that light up are required in boots of new cars.
General Motors’ technology spokesman Carolyn Markey said that a search through American newspapers on the internet had revealed about 120 children died in heated cars from 1996 to 2000. Four children have died in Texas due to this problem this year.
The company wanted to ensure that its cars would have sensors to indicate when cars are heating up.
GM started working on a sensor system that could detect movement of children or pets and monitor the inside temperature more than a year ago. If the temperature neared dangerous levels, an alarm would sound to alert parents or passersby. GM is working with a paediatrician, who said extreme heat affects young children much more quickly than adults. Their bodies’ internal temperature can rise three to five times faster than that of an adult. Opening a window slightly does not prevent the car from heating up.
Markey said the system is likely to only be ready in about four years’ time. Ford has not yet given details of its monitoring system.
