Certainly, but cars are also mandated to have a weight sensor in the passenger seat to disable the passenger side airbag when there isn't an adult sitting there (so they don't kill children in car seats).
Can't we at least compromise on that requirement? If there's a passenger, unlock the controls.
> Certainly, but cars are also mandated to have a weight sensor in the passenger seat to disable the passenger side airbag when there isn't an adult sitting there (so they don't kill children in car seats).
On a somewhat related note, this graph[1] show that the deaths of children in cars due to heat stroke started increasing after 1998 (which is when passenger side airbags were mandatory equipment in new vehicles).
Car seats can no longer safely be placed in the front seat due to the air bag risks. Children who fall asleep in the back seat combined with sleep deprived parents can lead to an "out of sight, out of mind" scenario where children are forgotten in the back seat of cars. It happens every summer.
That's only in certain jurisdictions, I guess? Around here cars either have a big warning sticker not to put children backwards in the front passenger seat or have an option to disable the airbag. I don't think I've seen one that does it automatically. The only use the sensor gets is making noise when the passenger doesn't use the seat belt.
I'm pretty sure my dad's ~2001 saab 9-5 had an indicator on the dashboard as to whether the passenger side airbag was turned on. Of course, I could be misremembering.
It appears that passenger side airbags that automatically disable are not required, but they were explicitly allowed ca 1997 by the NHTSA (as well as allowing a manual on/off switch). So my original point was somewhat mistaken. Of course, cars do have a weight sensor to alert you when the passenger seatbelt isn't fastened, so still, the car knows when you have a passenger.
Can't we at least compromise on that requirement? If there's a passenger, unlock the controls.