Opening Windows May Reduce Risk of COVID-19 in Cars: Study

COVID-19 has completely changed the face of travel as we know it, with massively fewer people taking flights and public transport – but our cars have remained a mystery. How safe are we in our vehicles? What are our risks?

A study published by Science Advances in early January began to answer some of our most pressing questions about COVID-19 transmission in our vehicles. Four scientists from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and Brown university used calculation Fdynamic dynamics to assess the risks posed by the virus in the passenger compartment of a vehicle and have also suggested ways to mitigate the risks.

If you know the design process of a racing car or an airplane, you’ve probably already encountered computational fluid dynamics. Essentially, these computer simulations model the way in which gases and liquids move on and through different surfaces. In this particular case, our scientists used CFD to model the way air moves inside a car.

The simulated vehicle used in the study was loosely based on a Toyota Prius traveling at 50 mph carrying two passengers: a driver in the left front of the car and a passenger in the right rear. Interestingly, the air flow outside the the moving car creates a pressure gradient inside the car that circulates air from the back of the car to the front. Then they started to model the indoor airflow with different combinations of open or closed windows. It is important to note here that regardless of the combination, the air conditioning was on.

The results are unlikely to be surprising. When all four windows were closed, the car was the most poorly ventilated, so eight to 10 percent of the aerosols – on which COVID-19 is traveling – exhaled by one person in the car went to the other. When everything the windows were open, the car was ventilated at best, with only 0.2 to 2% of the aerosols exchanged between the passengers.

Of course, windows that are wide open are not always practical when driving.. In the north, you will freeze in winter. In the south, someone with a delicate constitution will melt in the summer. Heavy rain will make things twice as miserable. Thus, it was deemed preferable for the driver and passenger to lower their windows rather than keep everything securely closed. This diagonal The configuration allows air to enter and then exit. It might not be comfortable, but it could save lives.

A subsequent study that has yet to be published found that cracking windows halfway was also a good idea, but only rolling them a quarter of the way down was much more dangerous, the New York Times Reports. For larger vehicles like vans or for vehicles carrying more people, the recommendation is to keep everything open.

Opening windows is recommended since the virus first appeared. The increased ventilation allows viral particles to be vented rather than recycled. And we also know that the smaller the space we share, the more likely we are to exchange aerosol particles. This study basically used science to give us the ideal strategy, for example, for carpooling or short trips outside of your bubble.

Of course, there are still dangers, even when opening your windows. Actually driving with the windows open increases air pollution in cars by 80%, which increases your likelihood of dying from air pollution.

The best option is, of course, to stay at home unless absolutely necessary and, when traveling, to do so during off-peak hours.