On April 21st, it was reported that during a Beiqi Tech Salon, Liu Yu, Vice General Manager of Beiqi Group, shared a little insight regarding healthy cabins:
It is suggested that in the future, people should wipe their car steering wheels more often. According to our research, due to material issues, after prolonged use, the bacterial count on car steering wheels is quite close to that found in public restrooms.
For this purpose, Beiqi developed an environmentally friendly and health-conscious cabin, with the JiHu S5 featuring an antibacterial steering wheel that efficiently inhibits, sterilizes, and prevents mold growth. The antibacterial rate against common bacteria reaches 99.99%, covering an area of 0.21 square meters.
In fact, what Liu Yu said is not unfounded. Tests conducted by authoritative institutions have shown that the bacterial content in car interiors far exceeds what most people imagine.
The steering wheel is the most bacteria-laden area in the car, with a bacterial count of up to 629 colony-forming units (CFU) per square centimeter, which is four times higher than the CFU index of 172 for public toilet seat covers.
Apart from the steering wheel, the ranking of bacterial counts inside the car proceeds in the following order: gear shift lever, door handles, window switches, and cup holders – all places frequently touched by car occupants.
For car owners, the absence of foreign objects on the steering wheel does not mean it's clean. As the car component most in contact with the driver, regular disinfection with alcohol or similar agents is necessary to ensure the health of occupants.
