NYT: More than 2 dozen people killed by carbon monoxide after leaving on their keyless cars

[Chief 08]

Turning a key, or pressing a button, either way it requires an action on the driver's part. I don't see how this is the manufacturer's fault.

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[Gruber]

It takes just a little basic brain activity to figure out how people can unintentionally leave cars idling.

Honda CivicX is just one way it works, other/older cars can differ.

With Honda walk-away door locking, many owners complained that the car sometimes, or even most of the times, wouldn't activate the door locking for no reason and would beep instead.

So, they would ignore the beeping. Some people have other things to do than investigate why the car is beeping when they know it can beep for no reason. Second, not all people live in apartments in crime-ridden cities. If you leave the car in your own garage or on your closed property, or in a limited access business parking, you may not want/need/care to lock it. Sometimes there are other cars running close by or other noises. If you don't need to lock the car, you may not notice it's still running.

With the traditional key ignition, people would rarely forget to remove the key. Often they have the car key connected to their other keys and they just can't leave their keys in the car without soon missing them. But it's possible to forget to press the button. In the Civic the engine turns off automatically after 10 minutes when it was started remotely. I don't see even a slightest reason why it shouldn't do the same when it was started by the button and the remote is not around for 10 minutes or so.

 

[BRIANC]

I asked my mother to move my car once while i was at work and when i came back (8 hours later) my car was still on but i didnt die

 

[Ataricade]

It takes just a little basic brain activity to figure out how people can unintentionally leave cars idling.

Honda CivicX is just one way it works, other/older cars can differ.

With Honda walk-away door locking, many owners complained that the car sometimes, or even most of the times, wouldn't activate the door locking for no reason and would beep instead.

So, they would ignore the beeping. Some people have other things to do than investigate why the car is beeping when they know it can beep for no reason. Second, not all people live in apartments in crime-ridden cities. If you leave the car in your own garage or on your closed property, or in a limited access business parking, you may not want/need/care to lock it. Sometimes there are other cars running close by or other noises. If you don't need to lock the car, you may not notice it's still running.

With the traditional key ignition, people would rarely forget to remove the key. Often they have the car key connected to their other keys and they just can't leave their keys in the car without soon missing them. But it's possible to forget to press the button. In the Civic the engine turns off automatically after 10 minutes when it was started remotely. I don't see even a slightest reason why it shouldn't do the same when it was started by the button and the remote is not around for 10 minutes or so.

So you’re advocating for another nanny device? How about people just take personal responsibility.

 

[MavicTB]

If I leave my car on and walk away it lets me know with the weird honk it does only when you go out of proximity with the car on (I found this out while washing it, the proximity seems to be only about 5 feet from the car). All cars should do this... if you leave your keys in the car in your garage you are dumb and ill prepared. If you cant hear a honk when you leave your car on... you are dumb and ill prepared. If you are not aware enough to press a button when you are done driving... you are dumb and ill prepared.

 

[brienp]

I'm actually surprised! The article says 28 people have died in 12 years. I'm astonished it's that low considering the amount of stupid currently roaming free in this country.

 

[CivicXI]

I'm actually surprised! The article says 28 people have died in 12 years. I'm astonished it's that low considering the amount of stupid currently roaming free in this country.

That's why I think these kinds of knee jerk reactions are idiotic. On average, 6 people a year die from either burning or melting of nightwear. That means in the past 12 years, 72 people have died from it. Keep this in mind: more people use nightwear than drive. There are more incidents of people using nightwear daily than driving. People spend more hours in nightwear than in their cars. And nightwear kills 250% more than keyless ignition. But I don't see anyone clamoring to ban nightwear.

 

[davemarco]

If you'd forget to hit a button to turn off the car, you'd forget to turn a key to turn off the car. I could understand the argument that an elderly person who is hard of hearing, in a loud and distracting parking lot, could potentially forget to turn off the car and not hear the beeping/engine/exhaust. But in that environment, they'd be out in the open -- it would be impossible for them to suffer carbon monoxide poisoning in that context. A person would have to be in a small, enclosed space (i.e. - their garage) with the door closed in order to suffocate, meaning that the sound of the engine, the exhaust, and the beeping would be amplified dramatically. You'd have to be almost deaf not to hear that.

 

[Dying2Live]

Wouldnt trust anything cnn, msnbc, nyt, washington compost writes, not worth the paper its written on, all dishonest liars with their own creepy agendas. Mask their oppinions and call it journalism, shameful sleezebags

 

[Wingo]

Wouldnt trust anything cnn, msnbc, nyt, washington compost writes, not worth the paper its written on, all dishonest liars with their own creepy agendas. Mask their oppinions and call it journalism, shameful sleezebags

I see somebody works in the keyless auto industry.

 

[CivicXI]

I see somebody works in the keyless auto industry.

He's obviously in the pockets of big keyless.

 

[a c i d.f l y]

The mild rumbling of my house when the car is in the garage is going to prevent me from ever doing this.

 

[Gruber]

It must be very difficult and rare to actually kill or hurt yourself because of a car left running. If since 2006 about 70 people did manage to do that, there is no doubt that tens of thousands (at least) every year leave their cars running unintentionally maybe for hours. No one calls the news about accidentally leaving the car running in a public place or at home.

No one cares for several deaths a year, but everyone loves clean air. So, regardless of whose fault it is, the fake news NYT would do better if they reported this to the fearsome EPA than tried to make anyone feel sorry for the dead losers.

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