Contributors: Nathan Severson and Kylee Carlin

As the summer season approaches in North Dakota and Minnesota, routines shift, school drop-offs become daycare runs, and road trips and family outings increase. Amid these changes, it’s crucial to remain vigilant about child safety in vehicles. One often-overlooked danger is the risk of inadvertently leaving a child in a hot car, which can lead to tragic consequences.

What Is A Rear Seat Reminder?

Rear seat reminder systems are safety features designed to alert drivers to check the back seat before exiting the vehicle. These systems vary by manufacturer but generally operate by monitoring the opening and closing of rear doors before and after a trip. If the system detects that a rear door was opened before the trip and not reopened afterward, it triggers an alert—often a chime or dashboard message—reminding the driver to check the back seat.

For instance, my 2019 Nissan Armada includes a “Rear Door Alert” system that emits three short horn beeps two times if the rear door was opened prior to the trip and not reopened after turning off the vehicle.

The Dangers Of Hot Cars

The interior temperature of a parked car can rise rapidly, even on mild days. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 1,010 children have died of heatstroke because they were left or became trapped in a hot car over the past 25 years. In 2024 alone, 39 children in the United States lost their lives to vehicular heatstroke – a sharp increase from the 29 deaths in 2023. While North Dakota and Minnesota rank relatively well compared to other states, the tragedy has still touched our region: North Dakota has recorded 1 pediatric hot car death since 1998, and Minnesota has seen 8 during that same period.

Understanding How It Happens — Even To Good Parents

When we hear stories about children left in hot cars, the natural reaction is: “That could never happen to me, I’m a good parent.” But neuroscience says otherwise.

According to Dr. David Diamond, a psychology professor at the University of South Florida, these tragedies often stem from a failure of the brain’s prospective memory—the system responsible for remembering future plans, like stopping at daycare. Under stress or a change in routine, our brain can switch into autopilot, following a familiar route (like driving straight to work) and overriding the conscious memory that a child is still in the back seat.

Dr. Diamond has found that even loving, attentive parents can form false memories, genuinely believing they dropped their child off—until they return to the car and discover the heartbreaking truth.

It’s not about bad parenting. It’s about how the brain works under pressure. And that’s why technology like rear seat reminder systems is so important—because memory isn’t enough.

Does Your Vehicle Have This Feature?

Many newer vehicles come equipped with rear seat reminder systems, but availability varies by make and model. To determine if your vehicle has this feature and how to activate it:

1. Consult the Owner’s Manual: Look for sections on safety features or rear occupant alerts.
   
   
2. Explore Vehicle Settings: Navigate through your car’s infotainment system to find and activate the feature.
   
   
3. Contact the Dealership: Reach out to your vehicle’s manufacturer or local dealership for specific information regarding your model.

Additionally, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation has provided detailed reports listing specific makes and models equipped with rear seat reminder systems as standard equipment for vehicles manufactured between September 1, 2023, and August 31, 2024.

Additional Safety Tips For Preventing Hot Car Tragedies

Even if your vehicle doesn’t have a rear seat reminder system, here are practical steps that can help protect your child:

• Always check the back seat: Make it a habit to open the rear door every time you park—even when you’re sure no one is back there.
  
  
• Put something essential in the back: Place your phone, purse, work ID, or left shoe in the back seat next to your child.
  
  
• Use a child care check-in system: Ask your daycare/school to call you if your child hasn’t arrived as expected.
  
  
• Use a visual cue: Keep a stuffed animal in your child’s car seat and move it to the front seat when your child is buckled in.
  
  
• Keep vehicles locked: Always lock your car and keep keys out of reach. Many hot car deaths occur when children climb into unattended vehicles and become trapped.
  
  
• Talk to your kids: Teach children never to play in or around vehicles.
  
  
• Teach what to do if trapped: My wife and I have talked with our kids about what to do if they ever find themselves stuck in a car.
  • If they’re not buckled, we tell them to climb up front and honk the horn over and over until someone comes to help.
  • If they’re buckled in, we tell them to grab whatever’s nearby—like a water bottle or something in the cup holder—and pound on the window and scream as loud as they can. The goal is to make noise and movement until someone notices.

A Note From Us

At SW&L Attorneys, we care deeply about child safety and hope this information helps prevent even one tragedy. We share these reminders not because we want anyone to need a lawyer, but because we’d rather no family ever face that kind of loss.

Still, if the unthinkable does happen—whether due to a product failure, negligence, or something that could have been prevented—we’re here to help navigate what comes next, and to stand for accountability when it matters most.

Please read the disclaimer here.