The Scent Of Danger

Drivers tend to become de-sensitised to the smell of their own cars so become less aware of how it might affect their mood and also the mood of any other person that drives in it.

Smells beneficial to driving include:

• Peppermint and cinnamon - improves concentration levels as well as making drivers less irritable.
• Lemon and coffee - these smells are good for clear thinking and high concentration levels.
• New car smell (a combination of cleaning products and organic solvents etc) - tends to make people concentrate better and also take more care with their driving.
• Sea ozone - a blast of salty sea air can encourage deep breathing which relaxes the muscles, relieves stress and calms the mind.
• For those people who think that a neutral smell in their car would be best, studies of astronauts found that a lack of odour was often profoundly disturbing, leading to irritability and even olfactory hallucinations.

A pleasant smelling car can also enhance the driver’s appeal to a partner. In earlier RAC Foundation research, when asked to name the things about a potential partner’s car that might add to his attractiveness, the car’s scent came out as one of the top answers.

The smell of a car can adversely affect its resale attractiveness and price too. The turn-offs include:

• Pet odour - there is nothing quite like the lingering smell of wet dog.
• Stale smoke - no one wants to buy a car that smells like an old ashtray.
• Dirty, unkempt smelling interior - reeks of neglect, what else has been ignored?
• Smelly gym gear and trainers - they may only reside in the car temporarily but the reminder of them can stay permanently.
• Kids’ accidents - you may think you have cleared up but the smell of vomit or urine lingers.
• Sickly air fresheners - smell is very subjective. A powerful scent may do it for you but could leave a potential buyer reaching for the sick bag.
• Spilled drinks - anything milky can be especially rancid and hard to shift.
• Food wrappers - may make you hungry when they are fresh but several weeks on….?
• Mildew from air conditioning - even a new car smells old and dirty.

Three years ago, research for the RAC Foundation's Motoring towards 2050 report discovered that designers were working on an in-car system capable of detecting a driver's mood and state of anxiety and automatically altering the vehicle's seating position, lighting and temperature to accommodate this. This system also altered the smell in the car to help to calm or invigorate the driver.

"Before 2050, however, motorists can help do this for themselves. A small cinnamon or mint scented room freshener sachet placed in a car could help to keep drivers alert, refreshed and focussed, " added Nicholson.