Carbon Monoxide Poses Safety Threat to Drivers

Name: North American International Auto Show Returns to Detroit
Uploaded: 2023-03-02T00:39:09+00:00
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Description: 2022 Overview report by Mark Ducker and Wild Road Pictures.
25 May 2000
Carbon Monoxide Poses Safety Threat to Drivers, Says Quantum Group
    SAN DIEGO, May 22 Memorial Day Weekend is traditionally
the start of the heavy summer driving season.  Additionally, people are facing
longer commutes and spending more time in their vehicles overall.
    To operate a vehicle safely, a driver must be alert, awake and unimpaired.
Slow reaction time or clouded judgement can be deadly.  Both also may be
symptoms of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, the leading cause of accidental
poisoning deaths in the country.
    "The car is a prime spot for exposure to carbon monoxide," said Dr. Edward
Krenzelok, past-president of the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology and
director of the Pittsburgh Poison Center.
    "People poisoned by carbon monoxide can be as dangerous on the highway as
drunk drivers because their brains are similarly affected," he said.  "Even
low levels of carbon monoxide can affect a driver's reaction time as well as
seriously impair judgement.  You might feel dizziness, headaches, fatigue,
irritability or other symptoms and not even consider carbon monoxide."
    What's more, if a person has been drinking alcohol, the impact of carbon
monoxide exposure can be magnified, Krenzelok noted.
    Pregnant women, the elderly and children are particularly susceptible to
the effects of carbon monoxide, he said.
    A 1999 California Air Resources Board Study reported that the air breathed
inside cars could be as much as 10 times more polluted than typical dirty
outdoor air in Southern California.  The report noted that Southern
Californians' highest daily exposure to air pollutants may be during their
commute to and from work -- including carbon monoxide, which was found in high
concentrations.
    Until recently, drivers had no way of knowing if odorless, invisible
carbon monoxide was present in automobiles.  To combat this serious health and
safety risk, Quantum Group, the world leader in CO alarm sensors, is
introducing the COSTAR(R) Model P-1, a personal carbon monoxide alarm made
especially for use in motor vehicles.
    Carbon monoxide, a major component of car exhaust fumes, can enter the
passenger compartment of a car in several ways.  A motor vehicle in front of
or on either side of a vehicle could be a prime source of CO.  Other potential
opportunities for CO build-up within a vehicle include operating a vehicle in
an enclosed structure such as a garage or carport, idling, a damaged exhaust
system, cracked block or leaking gasket or backdrafting while driving (which
occurs when negative air pressure forces CO into the vehicle from exhaust
fumes).
    "The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends carbon monoxide
alarms for every home in America," said Mark Goldstein, PhD.D, president of
Quantum Group.  "We know from research that motor vehicles are a major source
of carbon monoxide.  It stands to reason that having carbon monoxide alarms in
cars could help prevent illness and death due to CO exposure".
    The COSTAR P-1 Personal Carbon Monoxide Alarm retails for $59.99 and can
be ordered online at http://www.qginc.com or by calling Quantum Group at
800-432-5599.