The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that it will be starting an investigation into heated seats by all automakers in an attempt to determine if they pose “an unreasonable risk to safety” following complaints of some suffering burns.
Following reports that “dozens” of individuals that suffer from partial paralysis or other reduced sensory conditions have suffered burns from heated seats, USA Today says NHTSA is now going to analyze its data on seat warmers to determine if there is a widespread safety risk posed from the feature, or if the incidents are isolated and avoidable by individual consumers.
Safety advocate Sean Kane and burn specialist David Greenhalgh prompted the impending study by NHTSA after reaching out to the safety agency in February and asking that they reconsider what constitutes a defect for a seat heater. Greenhalgh cites his experience as the chief of the burn victim department at Shriners Hospital for Children, located in North California.
The doctor says that in his opinion a heated seat’s surface temperature should never exceed 105 degrees, or occupants face the risk of sustaining burns. Greenhalgh’s efforts reach back to at least 2003 when he co-authored a study on heated seats, and cited one patient that sustained third degree burns after being exposed to a 120 degree seat for 20 minutes.
Those most commonly burned by the feature tend to be those suffering from some form of sensory loss, such as those suffering from partial paralysis, as they are unable to feel the extreme heat and do not realize the need to disable the seat warmers. Both Kane and Greenhalgh contacted the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers requesting several changes, including the ability to disconnect the feature, the ability to set a maximum temperature and to install automatic shut-off timers in all vehicles.
Currently, some manufacturers do offer some of those features, but they are not universally available or mandated industry-wide.
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1.’NHTSA to look into…’ view
2.’NHTSA to analysis…’ view
