In warmer months, vehicle interiors can heat up quickly. Even when it’s mild outside, temperatures can still soar inside the vehicle.
For young children left in these vehicles, high temperatures are extremely dangerous – heatstroke and death can occur in minutes.
Child Presence Detection Systems
Systems that detect a child in a car, called Child Presence Detection Systems (CPDs), can help prevent this.
At Transport Canada, we teamed up with the National Research Council of Canada to look at CPDs as a technological solution to address this problem. After selecting systems for testing, we evaluated which CPDs did best at detecting a forgotten child and alerting the caregiver.
Why it matters
An average of 37 children die yearly in North America after being left in a hot vehicle.
In most cases, a caregiver forgot that the child was in the vehicle.
If CPDs can detect a forgotten child and alert the caregiver, many lives could be saved.
What are the technologies
There are two key parts to CPDs: sensing and intervention.
Sensing checks for the presence of vehicle occupants using sensors. Intervention features actions and warnings that CPDs take upon detecting an occupant. For example, the system may notify the driver and/or turn on air conditioning.
CPDs can either be pre-installed on the vehicle or purchased later to be added to the vehicle. Examples include carbon dioxide sensors, cameras, rear door reminders, seat pressure indicators, millimeter Wave (mmWave) radars (which detects micro-movements like breathing or a heartbeat), sound wave sensors, and buckle or clip sensors.
What our report found
No technology we tested was perfect. However, mmWave radars were most effective for detecting children, and for deploying interventions such as horn honking, flashing vehicle lights, and sending alerts to the driver’s phone.
What’s next
We’ll keep studying this technology as it evolves. We’re also sharing our results with manufacturers to help guide best practices for vehicle and technology designs.
What else can caregivers do?
CPDs aren’t the only answer. A caregiver can help prevent hot car tragedies by using simple habits—like always checking the back seat, or putting something (like a phone, wallet, or purse) in the back that makes the caregiver return there before leaving the car.
Associated links:
- Dangers of hot vehicles and children
- Technical Report: Evaluation of Occupant Monitoring System Technologies – Using a Proposed Test Method
- Resilient Ground Transportation program - National Research Council Canada
Contact:
Media Relations
Transport Canada, Ottawa
613-993-0055
media@tc.gc.ca