It's hard to believe parents could forget their own children in the back seat of a car, but it happens more often than you think.

Heatstroke is the leading cause of non-crash, vehicle-related deaths for children, according to the web site, SafeKids.org. Every eight days, a child dies from heatstroke in a vehicle.

"In So Cal, and really all over the country, this is something we need to think about all the time," said Kristen Rubi, West coast spokeswoman for the auto maker, GMC, which has introduced the industry's first alert system to notify drivers of objects left in the back seat. "Even on a temperate day, it only takes a few minutes for a car to reach really dangerous temperatures."

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, a car parked in an outdoor temperature of 80 degrees rises to a temperature of 123 degrees in just 60 minutes.

Introduced on the seven-seat SUV, the 2017 GMC Acadia, Rear Seat Reminder is activated when a rear seat door is opened and the car's engine is then turned on. When the car's ignition is turned off again, it dings five times and a message appears on the dashboard that reads: "Rear seat reminder. Look in rear seat."

The technology was devised as a response to children's heatstroke deaths in cars. Babies and young kids often sleep so soundly that drivers may forget they're in the back seat; parents are also sometimes tempted to leave a baby alone in a car while they shop, according to SafeKids.org.

Sue Carpenter is co-host of The Ride, Southern California Public Radio's series on modern mobility.