Many studies have addressed outdoor air pollution that arises from traffic, and its associated negative impacts on public health. However, less is being done to understand indoor air pollution, despite the average person now spending more than 90% of their time indoors (European Commission, 2004). In-cabin air quality represents around one hour of this exposure (Müller et al. 2011), but is especially important given the immediate proximity to motor vehicles, plus, in urban areas, high ambient concentrations compared to other micro-environments.

To address the dearth of research on this topic, an NAQTS V1000 air quality monitor, conveniently housed in a mannequin (“Justin”), was used to monitor inside vehicles: five pollutants were monitored (PN, CO, CO2, NO2, VOCs) along with environmental and road comfort parameters.

Consistent with other research (CARB, 2015; Müller et al. 2011), our data shows that the measured pollutants are often several times higher than those outside, due to factors of passenger habits, location, and release of VOCs from the vehicle interior components. By driver education, and/or automation of HVAC controls, exposure can be reduced significantly.