Hyundai Motor America, a strong advocate for standardizing effective safety technologies, praises the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Congress, Consumer Reports and the automotive industry for working together to make rear seat reminder systems standard features on new vehicles in the future. Making these systems standard equipment will help prevent child deaths from heatstroke in vehicles. To do its part, Hyundai will voluntarily make its Rear Occupant Alert (ROA) door-logic system standard on most of its new vehicles by 2022. It will also make its optional Ultrasonic Rear Occupant Alert, or a similar sensor-based system, available on more of its models in the future. July 31 is National Heatstroke Prevention Day, and the NHTSA and Hyundai are calling on the public to help prevent children from dying in hot cars this summer.
Two Hyundai models are available today with door-logic ROA as standard equipment: the 2020 Santa Fe and Palisade. Both of these SUVs have the Ultrasonic ROA available as an option. Coming later this year to dealerships, the 2020 Sonata will feature standard door-logic ROA. The 2019 Santa Fe has the Ultrasonic ROA feature available as an option.
“Heatstroke in vehicles is preventable and we are doing our part to prevent this,” said Mike O’Brien, vice president, Product, Corporate and Digital Planning, Hyundai Motor America. “We have great systems that use both door logic memory and motion sensors to help prevent children and pets from being forgotten in the car, but it also helps in case children accidentally lock themselves in.”
Hyundai currently offers two types of ROA systems to help prevent these tragedies from occurring. The ROA door-logic system detects if a rear door was opened or closed before the car was started, then reminds the driver to check the rear seat with a message on the center cluster when exiting the vehicle. The Ultrasonic ROA has the door-logic technology and an ultrasonic sensor that helps to detect the movements of children and pets in the second-row seats. If the system detects movement in the second-row seats after the driver leaves the vehicle and locks the doors, it will honk the horn and send an alert to the driver’s smartphone via Hyundai’s Blue Link connected car system (if equipped with Blue Link and the Blue Link service is active).