Car safety is always what automotive companies strive to improve upon each year. To guarantee the safety of everyone in the car does play a factor when people are purchasing a vehicle. Now GMC has implemented a new safety feature in their 2017 Acadia that has been an occurring problem with careless or forgetful drivers. The new Acadia will have a Rear Seat Reminder that will notify the driver if it believes someone might have been left behind in the vehicle.
The way the feature works is that the alarm will go off if the rear doors are opened and closed within 10 minutes of starting the vehicle. Another scenario is if the door is opened when the vehicle is running. The warning will go off in any temperature, regardless if it is hot or cold outside.
Some problems occur where kids or pets are left in the car intentionally as the driver believes they are attending to a quick errand but the resulting issue of heatstroke can still take place in that time depending on the temperature outside. It is not yet sure how effective this new feature will be but if it can save just one life then it will be worth it.