Ford, GM back Democratic plan to prevent 'silent killer' car deaths
by James Langford
March 01, 2019 09:30 AM When Jeffrey Shasteen walked into his Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., home for the last time, he carried with him the smart key for his 2009 Hyundai Genesis.
The 61-year-old had just parked the vehicle — which could be started with the press of a button as long as the key fob was close enough — in a garage on the ground floor of his home. He went to bed the night of Friday, Nov. 7, 2014, not realizing the car wasn't turned off, according to a lawsuit his children filed in Palm Beach County Court.
While he slept, the three-story house filled with carbon monoxide emitted from the car, and paramedics found him Saturday morning barely breathing, with a weak pulse. Shasteen died the following Monday at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, according to the suit, which was settled confidentially in late January.
His death is among more than 90 injuries and fatalities since 2006 that prompted Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Ed Markey of Massachussetts to propose a bill aimed at preventing similar deaths. Their bill would require the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require that vehicles with keyless ignition automatically turn themselves off after a specified period of idling time.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/business/ford-gm-back-democratic-plan-to-prevent-silent-killer-car-deaths
