Are you the type who tends to forget stuff stashed in the back seat of your car? Or you’ve probably heard the horror stories of children unintentionally left by their parents inside a car parked under the intense heat of the sun. Whether it’s food left overnight or a helpless child, such concerns need to be addressed.
Nissan has taken the lead by offering a new technology that can help avoid such incidents from recurring. The innovative system, dubbed Rear Door Alert (RDA), reminds owners to check their vehicle’s rear seat before walking away.
Developed by Elsa Foley, an industrial engineer and mother of two children, together with Marlene Mendoza, a mechanical engineer who has three children, the idea came about one morning after Marlene realized she had left a pan of lasagna inside her vehicle overnight. While nothing really tragic happened, it did leave her car’s interior smelling for days. Moreover, this made her think that it could have been worse if that thing had been alive.
After development and presentation, Foley and Mendoza’s innovative idea will become standard equipment in the 2018 Nissan Pathfinder later this year. The Rear Door Alert works by using sensors to detect opening and closing of the rear doors before and after a trip.
Whether you’re off to the grocery or to school, for instance, the system will detect if you opened the rear doors before moving out. Once you’ve arrived at your destination and switched off the ignition, it will once again check if you’ve opened the rear door again. If, for example, you failed to do so, it will give off a series of distinctive honks to remind you that you might have left your groceries or worse, your toddler back there.
Nissan has even made the honks or audible alerts different from the usual alarm on tone. This way, owners will really be reminded to check their vehicle’s rear seat before walking away. It’s all part of the Japanese carmaker’s Intelligent Mobility strategy that aims to make motoring cleaner, easier, and safer for all.
The Nissan Rear Door Alert will be available initially on the 2018 Nissan Pathfinder that will arrive in U.S. dealerships later this year. It will then be rolled out in other Nissan models soon after.
