It has been a hot summer across the United States this year, and there have already been a number of child deaths attributed to parents leaving their kids in hot cars. Not all situations like these are fatal, but they are certainly all serious. Temperatures in cars jump very quickly in a very short period, and make the create a severe heat stroke risk for anyone inside. A few short minutes in a hot car can be extremely dangerous or even fatal.
The creators of Waze recognized the severity of leaving kids in cars, and decided to add a feature into their app to address it. Waze, after all bills itself as “being all about the common good,” on its site. Waze’s child reminder is now in beta and aims to help parents remember the dangers of summer heat, and ultimately reduce incidences of child injury and fatality as a result.
Waze’s new feature provides a customizable notification when users arrive at their intended destination. The feature is in beta and appears in the changelog, according to Android Police. Users will find it located in app settings within the section of options to prevent auto-lock and keep Waze on top. Users can choose to enable or disable the warning and customize the message.
When the feature is available, a pop up will appear at the end of a user’s drive that gives an opt-in toggle. Users that opt in will then have access Waze’s child reminder features. Based on the serious consequences of forgetting a child in the car, Waze is hoping that users with children will opt in and use it to help keep children safe.
Waze is available to download for free on both Android and iOS platforms.
