Mandate for back seat alert slips in with Self-Drive Act

The US is moving forward with new legislation addressing child deaths from heatstroke in cars. Safety advocates welcome the move as long overdue and a huge step towards addressing a serious problem.

Its passage was far from straightforward. "We have been working to include some legislative language about a driver reminder system for children in the back seat. It has been included in different bills, but it was stripped out several times over many years," explained Janette Fennell, KidsAndCars.org Founder and President. The victory came when the US House of representatives included language from the Hot Cars Act as part of the autonomous vehicle Self-Drive Act passed by the House of Representatives.