Legislation filed on keyless ignitions after death of UMass, MIT academics

After the death of two local high-powered academics in Florida last month, a pair of local congressmen have introduced a measure to address safety concerns in vehicles with keyless ignition.

The legislation, introduced by Democratic Massachusetts congressmen Joe Kennedy III of Newton and Seth Moulton of Salem, comes after the deaths of Sherry H. Penney, 81, the former interim president of the University of Massachusetts, and James Livingston, 88, a retired Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor.

The married couple were in their Sarasota, Fla., home in early May when their 2017 Toyota Avalon, which had a keyless ignition system, apparently was accidentally left running in the garage, filling the home with carbon monoxide, according to family.

The legislation, which was filed Wednesday, would require the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require vehicles with keyless ignition technology to automatically shut off after a certain period of time.

“A vehicle left running in an attached garage can quickly fill living spaces with lethal levels of carbon monoxide,” a statement from Kennedy’s office said. “The New York Times has identified at least 28 deaths and 45 injuries since 2006 attributable to CO poisoning caused by vehicles with keyless ignitions inadvertently left idling.”

In addition to carbon monoxide deaths, cars with keyless ignitions can unintentionally roll away as well — another feature that the legislation aims to fix.

“While current federal regulations require that vehicles with traditional keys must be in ‘park’ and shut down before the key is removed from the ignition, no comparable rule exists or applies to keyless ignitions,” the statement said. “Despite clear evidence of a problem, NHTSA has not yet addressed the hazards associated with keyless ignitions.”