Children and pets are still dying from heatstroke in hot cars every year.
Now that the summer season has started, families are looking forward to taking a long-overdue vacation. Due to travel restrictions, more people are likely to drive this summer than use public transport. With this in mind, Ford is reminding us how leaving a child or pet alone inside a hot car can have fatal consequences.
Every year, vulnerable children and family pets die from heatstroke after being left inside a hot car. According to KidsandCars.org, a child's body overheats three to five times more than an adult's. Family pets are also at risk - it can take just six minutes for a dog to die in a hot car according to RSPCA Australia.
To raise awareness of this serious and preventable issue, Ford has released an eye-opening video showing what happens when a baby or pet is left inside a stifling hot car. Ford commissioned an ice sculptor to create an "Ice Baby" and an "Ice Dog," which were placed in the back of a Ford Focus Wagon at the automaker's weather factory facility in Cologne, Germany. While the temperature outside the car was set at 95 degrees Fahrenheit, the cabin temperature inside the car heated up to 122 degrees Fahrenheit in just 19 minutes, causing the ice sculptures to melt instantly.
To help prevent children from being left in hot cars, Ford has developed a Rear Occupant Alert that activates a visual alert and audible warning reminding the driver to check the back seats before exiting.
In Europe, the technology is on the EcoSport, Fiesta, Focus, Galaxy, Kuga, Mondeo Hybrid, Puma, S-MAX, Transit, Tourneo Connect, and Mustang Mach-E. Ford aims to make this life-saving technology standard in all its passenger cars by 2025.
"We have all seen in the news the terrible consequences that can result from a moment of forgetfulness. Rear Occupant Alert will help drivers to remember what they might think they could never forget - that they might have left a child or a pet on the rear passenger seats," said Joerg Beyer, Executive Director of Engineering at Ford Europe.
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