For the study, researchers examined the air quality inside vehicles in both mobile and fixed-site settings under different ventilation scenarios. Analysis determined air pollution to be as much as 40 percent higher inside vehicles caught in traffic jams or stopped at a red light than those driving in free-flowing traffic.
The safest ventilation setting, as determined by the researchers, consisted of keeping the car windows closed and the fan off while in bumper-to-bumper traffic or stopped at a red light. This ventilation setting was associated with a 76 percent reduction of in-car pollutants. Researchers also determined the fan setting which circulates air internally and does not draw air from outside the car to be safe when used in tandem with closed windows.
“Where possible and with weather conditions allowing, it is one of the best ways to limit your exposure by keeping windows shut, fans turned off and to try and increase the distance between you and the car in front while in traffic jams or stationary at traffic lights,” said senior author Prashant Kumar, PhD, an air pollution expert from the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom. “If the fan or heater needs to be on, the best setting would be to have the air re-circulating within the car without drawing in air from outdoors.”
According to the World Health Organization, outdoor air pollution is a leading environmental cause of cancer deaths.
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