GMC Acadia's Rear Seat Reminder caters to the idiots in our midst
If you're the type to accidentally leave living beings and perishable items inside a hot car, you need more help than a car can provide.
Have you ever accidentally left a child, animal or gallon of ice cream in a car on a hot day? If so, allow us to say thanks for reading Roadshow from prison. In the event you're a smidge on the forgetful side, GMC's created a system that should prevent you from getting arrested or coming out of Target to find a broken window, a missing dog and your license plate plastered all over social media.
The aptly named Rear Seat Reminder on the 2017 GMC Acadia monitors the rear doors. If they're opened and closed up to 10 minutes before the vehicle starts, or while the car is running, the system will remind you to check the back seat when you turn the car off. Rear Seat Reminder will emit five chimes and display a message in the instrument binnacle.
Having driven the new Acadia a couple weeks ago, I can say that the system works. However, it doesn't use in-seat sensors or other tools or computer logic to ascertain what is in the back seat. So, if you're carpooling or tooling around with friends, that system is going to chime, even if the rear seat is occupied by human beings equipped with the capability of leaving a vehicle on their own.
The system can be turned off, in the event you find it annoying or you're just looking for a chance to end up in the clink. While the system does cater to the lowest common denominator, it's a helpful bit of tech that could very well prevent a tragedy, and given that everyone's capable of making a mistake, Rear Seat Reminder is a nice bit of reassurance.
