Deadly Convenience: Keyless Cars and Their Carbon Monoxide Toll

[BurfordTJustice]

Deadly Convenience: Keyless Cars and Their Carbon Monoxide Toll From the alt-far left so you can believe...

[Uncle Monster]

I just came up with an idea. A carbon monoxide detector connected to an indoor alarm and triggering an exhaust fan in the garage. It could save lives. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Inventive Monster

[gfretwell]

I have a better idea, a switch in the garage door that turns off the car via a "fob" clone, when the door closes. The car won't start until the door opens.

[trader_4]

That's a part that the NYT didn't address, how the car winds up running AND the garage door is shut. Even with a very quiet car, no way you would not know it's running here and be able to push the garage door button to close it. I would agree coming up with some ways of trying to prevent this is a good idea, but I think you have to be drunk or senile or something to wind up with the car running and the garage door closed.

Also, in that piece, the son of one of the victims said that Pepsi cans inside the garage had exploded because of the CO? What's up with that? How could CO possibly cause soda cans to explode? Makes no sense.

[""Retired"]

ISTM a simpler fix is to require the car mfr. to program the car to shut off after some short period of time, say 10 to 15 minutes of continuous idling.

This would also help those who leave their car at the airport, and come back to no gas and a dead battery ;-) (Yes it has happened)

[Frank]

I accidentally started my car before opening the garage door the other day. No big deal as I hit the remote to open it in the car. According to what I just read it takes 1200 ppm CO to be in immediate hazard.

There was also almost a tragedy at a friends hunting camp when a wood burner stove pipe had developed a large hole gassing a half dozen people sleeping in the room. They were all pretty groggy but no harm resulted. Everyone should have CO detectors in their home.

[gfretwell]

If you have the radio going, you can't really hear the car running and since you are not turning a key and taking it with you, someone can forget to turn it off. My FIL did it once with his cadillac and he did not really figure it out until the CO detector (I made him install), went off. He said he was in his car, talking on the phone (in dash) and something on that call had him thinking about something in the house. He went in to do that, hit the GDO on the way in and 15 minutes later the alarm went off. I pointed out later that you can still use the radio and phone with the car off until you open the driver side door. Unfortunately there was a software problem in his older model caddy that did not turn everything off. It killed the battery so he tried not to use that feature.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Quiet as cars are today, I can see it happening. You frive into the garage, hit the button for the door and don't hit the ignition shut off. My car emits long beep if I leave the car running, but it is possible, since the car in in the garage, to just leave the key in the car so no signal.

There are a few easy fixes. First, the car should emit a signal when the fob leave and car is running There should be a shut down of the engine if the fob is not present for say, 10 minutes. Building code for attached garage should be a CO detector with an alarm in the house. Interconnected alarms or ones that send a signal to your phone would work. They already exist.

Yes, old age is a part of it, but a little confusion can do it too. A 45 year old woman at work parked her car and dropped a package or something and she left the car running, key in ignition. At least it was warmed up when she left 9 hours later.

[catalpa]

CO did not make those Pepsi cans explode. Took place in Florida, additional heat buildup from the car running hours on end made the cans explode.

[trader_4]

Are you suggesting people hit the garage door button via the remote in the car? If so, there's a big part of the problem. That is poor practice. If you're using the remote in the car to open and close the garage door when the car's inside the garage, I'd think you'd smash up a few garage doors long before you got around to gassing yourself.

Here, we only use the wall button to open or close the garage door when the car is in the garage. The remote is used when the car is outside.

[catalpa]

OMG !! You actually posted something related to houses.

[gfretwell]

My FIL's problem is he leaves the fob on the table just inside the garage door and the car can still see it. I got him a little wire mesh tray at office depot that will hide it if he remembers to drop it in the tray. He used to just leave the fob in the car. The car does honk the horn if you take the fob out of range with the car running.

[Unquestionably Confused]

[snip]

Under the "Apple doesn't fall far from the tree theory", I suppose if you have an individual (the father) who believes that with a modern car if you just walked away from it with the key in your pocket it would automatically shut off, it should not be that big a surprise that his son would believe that the presence of high levels of CO would make a can of Pepsi explode. They are both idiots! Mystery solved!

[Unquestionably Confused]

[snip]

Obviously, that is the correct explanation. The fun comments here are the result of the son putting forth the CO buildup and/or the reporter running with that. Again. . . both are idiots

[Ed Pawlowski]

Sure, it is convenient. At work in the winter there are five of us that can park inside. We all use the remote to open and close the doors. At home I have a detached garage so use a button when leaving.

In my new house the garage will be attached. You can bet there will be a CO detector too. Though I've never left the car running, I am getting older and just don't know in a few years what I may do.

I don't buy canned soda so that is not a worry.

[My 2 Cents]

I was thinking Darwin Award, then I remembered I once left a car running all night.

[trader_4]

You could stop using that remote to open and close the garage door when the car is inside before you backup through the door.

[gfretwell]

I suspect he actually looks back before he starts moving to be sure there isn't a mail man (or anything else) in the driveway. I suspect he would notice the door is closed.

[ZZyXX]

evolution in action

[trader_4]

I would hope all people would make sure the car is off before closing the garage door too. My point is it's a poor practice to use the remote opener to open and close the door when the car is in the garage. If you're in the habit of opening it when you're in the car, it's going to be much easier to back up into the door with it closed. If you're in the habit of pushing the door button on the wall as you enter the garage, then you're used to seeing and hearing the door open before ever getting in the car. If you somehow forget to push the button, you'd have an excellent chance of catching it before getting into the car and starting it. If you're in the habit of getting in the car, starting it, then using the remote, that opportunity is gone. Now you have the noise of the car, possible other distractions associated with starting it, eg warning lights coming on, where you could forget to open the door and not notice it. But to each his own, do as you please.