The car is not always in “Park” when the driver thinks it is with keyless ignition systems. Safety problems ensue.
With automakers rushing to add ‘keyless ignition’ to vehicles, the National Highway Traffic Safety – NHTSA – warns about potential safety problems the key fixed.
Without the machine-cut steel key and an ignition interlock system, a driver can walk from the vehicle without putting the car in ‘Park’” leaving it able to roll away. If the ignition is left on, carbon monoxide poisoning could also occur in a garage or enclosed space.
Keyless Ignition Systems first became available in the early 2000s in U.S. luxury models, but have since become standard on less expensive. More numerous vehicles increasing the safety risk.
NHTSA says drivers who shut off the car without putting their vehicle in “park” and walk away from the vehicle, leaves it prone to roll away; Those who do put their vehicle in park but leave the ignition on, are increasing the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning in a closed environment.
The NHTSA warns that those don’t know how to shut down the engine in the event of any on-road emergency are also vulnerable.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
