Keyless Engine Start Has Allegedly Caused 28 American Deaths
Keyless car entry and start systems are being held responsible for ‘at least 28’ carbon monoxide poisoning deaths in the US.
After recently being accused of allowing an easy way for thieves to steal your car in seconds without even using force, keyless start is now coming under fire because a small number of Americans are apparently forgetting to turn their engines off.
After parking in their garage they simply exit the car and go about their day, according to a New York Times investigation. The idling engine then slowly fills the house with deadly carbon monoxide. The number of tragic and unnecessary deaths is still under review.
A report quoted by the newspaper says that keyless start, which means drivers don’t need to remove the car’s key from a bag or pocket, is now standard on almost half of all new vehicles sold in the US. Evidently engine tech is now so advanced that people can’t hear them running in an enclosed space.
Ford is reportedly introducing a safety net that will cut the engine after 30 minutes of idling if the key isn’t detected in the car, but other car makers are said to be against the idea.
Source: New York Times
Comments
Should’ve listened to Scotty
Bring back the good old keys please
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I mean, it’s pretty bad that people have died but at the same time, how can you not realise your car isn’t turn off? I would imagine there’s something in the driving handbook which says if you’re in control of your vehicle you should know it’s driving status.
It’s honestly natural selection
Believe it or not, even when i worked at the dealer sometimes we’d have push start car running. Its second nature in a keyed car to remove it after but when you dont live with a push start you forget that you have to hit the button. Ive been guilty of this on one occasion, and didnt gear the car running (it was a hybrid) until i saw the marker lights were still on.
I concur good sir!
It says STOP on the button! How hard is that to understand?
Bear in mind, we’re talking about Americans here
It’s not that people don’t know how to stop their cars; it’s that they forget to stop their car.
So its the cars fault that a select group of people dont have fully functioning brain? How do you “forget” to turn your car off simply because its push start?
Have you ever forgotten to bring something with you on a trip, or locked your keys in the car, or left the front door open/unlocked? it only needs to happen once, and with cars becoming quieter, I can understand how it might happen. I can’t imagine doing it, but then I didn’t think I would be in a car accident until I was in one.
I accidentally turned the keys while the engine was already running.
These things are so quiet and there’s nearly no vibration nowadays, that it can happen to the best of us.
Here’s a very simple and easy solution that’s effective in saving lives. 😉
Thats true in one more point now 👍
Bozosuku (spelled right?) a chrysler 200
just how..,
Murphy’s law says, that everything that could go wrong will go wrong. It’s just a matter of time.
stick shift
So the engine killer has now began killing people too
Start stop is a engine killer,that’s for sure,but killing people is surely new,dont cars beep if the door is open while its running?