Man says he lost consciousness at the wheel due to Benz's 'new car smell'
 

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/etc/" rel="tag">Etc.</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/government-legal/" rel="tag">Government/Legal</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/safety/" rel="tag">Safety</a></p><a href="http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20101213/NEWS/101219942/1078&ParentProfile=1062"> <img hspace="4" border="0" vspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/12/new-car-smell.jpg" alt="new car scent" /></a><br />
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Numerous <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/30/mitsubishi-eclipse-spyder-wins-for-most-toxic-new-car-smell/">studies</a> have <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2005/09/27/new-car-smell-is-hazardous-to-your-health/">shown</a> that the so-called new car smell - which is actually a potent outgassing of volatile organic chemicals and heavy metals - can be potentially dangerous to breathe in, and that some people are <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/26/gesundheit-all-volvo-models-now-allergy-friendly/">more bothered</a> by these VOCs than others.<br />
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But could that new car smell be so insidious that it could cause you to lose consciousness long enough that you get into an accident? And if so, could an attorney use such a new car smell defense to ease a client's legal woes? Sounds a bit odd, but just such a case is currently taking place in Colorado.<br />
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Here are the facts: Martin Erzinger, owner of a 2010 <a href="http://autoblog.com/make/mercedes-benz">Mercedes-Benz</a> sedan (model unknown), fell asleep at the wheel, drifted off the road and struck a bicyclist named Dr. Steven Milo before colliding with a concrete barrier. The unresolved questions are whether Erzinger's sleep apnea was compounded by his car's odors, as suggested by a forensic specialist, and if he was aware that he had struck a pedestrian.<br />
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Of course, it's not up to us to decide how guilty or innocent Erzinger may be... we'll leave that up to the court. But we are curious what you think. Could a particularly noxious new car smell be a contributing factor in an accident?<br />
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[Source: <a href="http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20101213/NEWS/101219942/1078&ParentProfile=1062"> VailDaily.com</a> | Image: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dyanna/2487999197/sizes/z/in/photostream/">Dyanna</a> - CC 2.0] <p style="padding:5px;backgr ound:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/15/man-says-he-lost-consciousness-at-the-wheel-due-to-benzs-new-c/">Man says he lost consciousness at the wheel due to Benz's 'new car smell'</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblo g</a> on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:20:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/15/man-says-he-lost-consciousness-at-the-wheel-due-to-benzs-new-c/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19763931/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/15/man-says-he-lost-consciousness-at-the-wheel-due-to-benzs-new-c/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>

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