Car carbon monoxide detectors alert people to dangerous levels of a lethal gas and give them time to escape or take other safety precautions. Some detectors also link to a central monitoring system that can contact emergency services for you. They work by detecting how much carbon monoxide is in the air, and some use electrochemical sensors to gauge concentrations. They’re commonly used in homes, but many can be transferred to vehicles, too.
Known as the invisible killer, carbon monoxide can poison people in minutes at high levels. It’s a byproduct of incomplete combustion, and it can seep from faulty furnaces or stoves or if a vehicle or portable generator is run inside the house. It can also enter a car’s cabin through broken exhaust components, and the fumes can trigger dizziness, headache or loss of consciousness, causing victims to lose control of their vehicles.
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Car carbon monoxide detectors can help prevent deaths caused by malfunctioning exhaust systems. They’re a must for anyone who spends extended periods in their cars, such as drivers going on long trips or commuters who park their vehicles in garages, where the engines can be left running for hours after the driver leaves.
The best carbon monoxide detectors are small enough to fit in a car and will detect the gas quickly to sound an alarm. We recommend the First Alert CO511B, which costs $40 and will sound a loud and clear alarm within three minutes of reading 70 parts per million or higher.