SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ADAPTING ACTIVATION TIMING OF ALERTS

System, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to alerting a passenger about hazards when exiting a subject vehicle. In one embodiment, a method includes identifying an initial target and a subsequent target according to sensor data about a surrounding environment of the subject vehicle. The method includes, in response to determining that the initial target satisfies an alert threshold, activating an initial alert for a defined time to inform the passenger of a hazard associated with the initial target and the passenger exiting the subject vehicle into a path of the initial target. The method includes extending the defined time responsive to the subsequent target satisfying the alert threshold and a timing threshold that defines a cool-down period between activating separate alerts.