At least 28 deaths caused by carbon monoxide have been linked to keyless ignition idling, The New York Times reported.
This is because a keyless ignition system does not require a key to shut a car off and when, combined with quieter engines, driver are being led to believe their cars have stopped running, even when they haven't.
As a result, many keyless-ignition vehicles are accidently left idling in garages and flooding the buildings with poisonous carbon monoxide, which has caused dozens of deaths and led to many others being injured and left with brain damage.
Seven years ago the Society of Automotive Engineers recommended that automakers install systems that alert drivers when they exit a running car and while the dangerous implications of these keyless ignition systems have been considered by the Traffic Safety Administration, no particular alert system has been mandated, The Drive said.
This means that manufacturers are left to their own devices, and many have opted to do nothing about the situation.
The topic has come to light in the past.
In 2015, reports said 10 of the largest automakers were being sued amid accusations that 13 people had died after manufacturers allegedly concealed the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning in over 5 million vehicles featuring keyless ignitions, NBC News reported.
The defendants included BMW, including Mini; Daimler's Mercedes Benz; Fiat Chrysler; Ford; General Motors; and Honda, including Acura; Hyundai, including Kia; Nissan, including Infiniti; Toyota, including Lexus; and Volkswagen, including Bentley.
"We’re going to continue to see deaths and injuries. And the manufacturers will continue to settle cases," Sean Kane, founder of auto safety research group Safety Research and Strategies, said, according to The New York Times.
Some have even taken to installing carbon monoxide detectors to their vehicles.
This comes shortly after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced it would be expanding investigations to comprise 1.33 million vehicles after more than 2,700 complaints that the exposure of carbon monoxide may have led to three crashes and 41 injuries.
And while it is unclear exactly how many deaths have occurred relating to carbon monoxide from keyless-ignition vehicles left running, The New York Time gathered its own data based on news reports, lawsuits, police and fire records and incidents tracked by advocacy groups from 2016 and come up with 28 deaths and 45 injuries.
This number could be higher, the news outlet said.
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