The 2020 Hyundai Palisade Leads the Way in Backseat Safety
Vehicles are getting safer and safer for adults and children. Now the 2020 Hyundai Palisade is taking safety to the next level with a rear door alert system. See how this Hyundai Palisade feature could save the lives of children.
The 2020 Hyundai Palisade rear door alert system
The 2020 Hyundai Palisade is one of the first SUVs to have an effective Rear Occupant Alert System to notify drivers that passengers could be in the second row as they exit their vehicle. The biggest reason to include this technology is to prevent children from suffering heat strokes when accidentally left in vehicles.
This danger helped prompt the Helping Overcome Trauma for Children Alone in Rear Seats Act in 2017. Wow, that’s a mouthful. But anyway, this helped pass the Hot Cars Act in July to make vehicles safer, and automakers agreed to mandate rear door alerts on all vehicles by 2025. GM and Nissan rear door alert systems both beat Hyundai to the punch by providing rear seat alerts already, and it’s becoming increasingly popular.
How does the 2020 Hyundai Palisade rear door alert system work?
Some rear seat reminder systems are pretty basic. According to Cars.com, Kia and Hyundai have a simpler Rear Occupant Alert System that detects if a rear door was opened or closed before the car started. Then it reminds the driver to check the backseat with a message sent to the instrument cluster when the driver exits the vehicle.
But in the 2020 Hyundai Palisade Limited, the system is a bit more advanced. It comes with an Ultrasonic Rear Occupant Alert. In addition to monitoring the rear doors, it has an ultrasonic sensor that can detect movement in the back seat.
If the system detects movement in the backseat after the driver has exited the SUV and locked it, then the horn will honk. Also, if you have an active subscription for the Hyundai Blue Link app, alerts will be sent to your smartphone.
It’s unclear if the system detects movement in the third row or not. Also, Cars.com discovered how well this feature worked while leaving a dog named Gus (SAFELY) in their Hyundai Palisade during lunch.
While Gus napped in a blanket, the system started activating. The horn will activate for 25 seconds if it continues to detect movement. It will also operate the alert up to 8 times. But Gus was safely watched and didn’t require that many alerts. Also, you can deactivate the alert system on the LCD display. We wish they would have included a photo of Gus to share!
How safe is the 2020 Hyundai Palisade?
The 2020 Hyundai Palisade is incredibly safe. It has a 5-star safety rating from the NHTSA. It earned 5 out of 5 stars in every single crash test except for the rollover risk, where it scored 4 out of 5 stars. The rollover resistance test measures the rollover risk in a loss of control scenario.
Plus, the 2020 Hyundai Palisade is an IIHS top safety pick for 2020. It managed to earn a superior safety rating for the overall evaluation. It efficiently avoids collisions and protects passengers during impacts.
