Safety features in EVs to save a child's life
27 November, 2023
Carmakers are introducing high-tech safety features in electric cars to help keep children safe in cars.
On a hot day, the interior temperature of a parked car can soar rapidly, turning any locked vehicle into a potential death trap.
NRMA Roadside Assistance was called out to help more than 1700 parents and carers rescue children and pets from their vehicles in the 2022-2023 financial year.
Child presence detection (CPD) or rear occupant alert (ROA) systems help parents and carers to avoid what has been termed "fatal distraction”.
ANCAP highlights child safety
New criteria introduced by vehicle safety body ANCAP puts a spotlight on features such as this.
Many vehicles on the market now have CPD/ROA systems on offer. ROA systems typically remind car owners to check the rear seats by displaying or sounding alerts. If cars are locked before clearing the alert, systems take it up a notch, sounding horns and flashing lights.
CPD systems on the other hand typically use sensors to detect back-seat occupants, and can perform other functions such as sending alerts to the driver’s smartphone app.
In the case of the Lexus RZ – the first vehicle to gain a five-star rating under ANCAP’s new regime – the vehicle will “notify the driver of a child inadvertently left inside a vehicle,” according to the safety body.
According to a spokesperson from Lexus, “the car keeps track of you opening up the rear door/front passenger seat before starting it up and driving off." Then, it reminds the driver to check when the car is next turned off.
“If you don’t open the rear door/front passenger door after getting out, lights flash and car beeps,” they added.
CPD systems on the other hand typically use sensors to detect back-seat occupants, and can perform other functions such as sending alerts to the driver’s smartphone app.
BYD and Volvo electric cars introduce child presence detection features
Other electric vehicle (EVs) could win over families thanks to a feature that is only possible due to the presence of a battery - such as the BYD Atto 3, BYD Seal and BYD Dolphin, which not only alert the driver to the presence of a rear occupant but can also turn the air conditioning on.
As per the BYD Dolphin manual, if a child or pet is detected an alarm will ring, escalating and continuing to ring if not canceled for another 25 minutes. After three minutes, the air conditioning will turn on for 30 minutes.
The upcoming Volvo EX90 large electric SUV will feature a radar that detects movement anywhere in the car at a sub-millimetre scale.
It is the first Volvo (Volvo says the first car in the world) to use the technology, which will be included in other future models.
The same technology will feature in the upcoming Polestar 3.
The radar system activates when the driver goes to lock the car and will not lock until the vehicle is empty of both pets and people.
Tesla sticks with internal camera sensors over radar
Tesla does not yet offer rear occupant detection technology (although it does have seat belt alerts) but has a cabin overheat protection mode, and modes that can be set to keep the interior of the cabin cool, such as Dog Mode and Camp Mode.
Reports from 2020 say the EV maker had applied to use sub-millimetre radar sensors inside the car in California, but no subsequent reports confirm this had been implemented.
Director of Vehicle Programs for Tesla Daniel Ho confirmed to NRMA at the launch of the 2024 Model 3 electric sedan on Wednesday that the new refresh uses internal cameras only to detect occupants, excluding radar sensors. He added a software update could add CPD features but did not confirm when this would be rolled out to vehicles.
