Considered the most dangerous means of transport due to the accidents it causes, the car can also have significant consequences on the health of drivers, especially young ones!
On the road, accidents are the most frightening when you take the car. It is indeed the most dangerous means of transport ahead of the motorcycle, the plane or the train. In metropolitan France, 3,167 people died in 2023. However, accidents are not the only dangers of the car! The interior of the vehicle itself would represent a risk for the driver, and young people as well as those who take the road regularly, or on long journeys are the most exposed.
According to one study published by the journal Environmental Science & Technologies On May 7, 2024, the driver and passengers of a car would, in fact, be progressively poisoned by flame retardants. These mixtures of chemicals are frequently used in everyday objects, because in addition to reducing their flammability, they aim to slow the spread of fires. In cars, they are present mainly in the foam of the seats and become toxic mainly by gas release.
However, flame retardants are dangerous for health. According to the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES), some of them are carcinogenic, endocrine disruptors, toxic for reproduction and neurotoxic.For an average driver spending about an hour a day in their car, this exposure is a real public health problem (…) It is particularly worrying for those who make longer journeys and for young passengers.“, confided Rebecca Hoehn, the doctor who led the investigation.
Exposure is even more worrying when summer arrives, because the concentration of these chemicals increases when temperatures rise, especially when the car is exposed to the sun with the windows closed.Heat facilitates the release of flame retardants into the cabin air.“, confirms Lydia Jahl, co-author of the study. To limit these risks, the authors of this work recommend avoiding air conditioning based on the reuse of the air present inside the car and opening the windows to ventilate the passenger compartment!