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September 15, 2008 10:17 PM
by Belinda Goldsmith
LONDON - If a man's home is his castle then maybe his car is his rubbish bin, with a study finding the typical car has 283 different types of bacteria present in every square centimetre.
Microbiologists from Britain's Aston University found the dirtiest part of the vehicle was the gear stick, home to 356 germs on a square centimetre, while one car boot in a random survey of 25 cars had 850 bacteria in a square centimetre.
Drivers with children and pets were found to host a greater number and range of bacteria in their cars with, in one instance, bacterial traces of excrement found in the boot of the car where the weekly food shopping was regularly placed.
"Whilst most of the bacteria we've found are unlikely to
cause serious health problems, some cars, particularly those
which regularly carry children and animals, play host to
potentially harmful germs," said Anthony Hilton, director of
Biology and Biomedical Science, at Aston University.
"People would be horrified at the thought of eating off
their toilet seat, but few realise eating off their car
dashboard is just as likely to make them sick," he added.
The study, conducted for insurance.co.uk, found British
motorists spend more than three years of their life behind the
wheel and over a quarter eat there every week.
One in four of 1376 car owners polled said their car is
littered with food wrappers and empty drink bottles, while one
in six admitted to regularly leaving uneaten food in their
vehicle.
Half of the drivers admitted the standard of cleanliness in
their car left much to be desired and they would never let
their home get into the same condition.
The study also found a strong correlation between the
mileage of the car and the bacterial and fungal air quality.
The researchers said that when air and heater blowers are
switched on, the number of airborne bacteria and fungi
significantly increases, especially in older cars, which are
less likely to have air filters.
The study and research findings were released by
insurance.co.uk in a bid to encourage motorists to keep on top
of car maintenance.
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