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| Science & Technology |
| Hybrid cars pose lethal shock risk to rescue crews |
| 2007-05-12 |
| Edited for brevity. Right now, 1.5 percent of all cars sold in the U.S. are hybrids, and in three years that number is expected to be six times higher. At some local dealerships they even have waiting lists for customers who want to purchase a hybrid vehicle. But what makes these cars so desirable, is also creating an extra danger. The problem starts right under the hood, where most hybrids have bright orange cables carrying high-voltage electricity between the batteries and engine. Those cables can be a hot zone for firefighters responding to collisions involving hybrids. Emergency responders have an inherently hazardous job, but the proliferation of hybrid vehicles is adding to the potential dangers they face on a daily basis. The risk of electrocution is very real. The combination gas-electric vehicles have up to 500 volts running through them, and can also pose a danger to passengers in a crash. When firefighters are called to high-speed collisions, they often have to cut drivers and passengers out of the mangled vehicles. But cut in the wrong place on a hybrid car before the battery is disconnected, and it could result in a lethal shock. |
| Posted by:Dar |
| #3 Let' see: 1) They're smaller and thus, more dangerous to their very drivers 2) They createn a bigger environmental problem than they purport to solve. 3) They'll kill firefighters and other would-be rescuers. Sounds like a liberal trifecta. No wonder leftists love hybrids! |
| Posted by: badanov 2007-05-12 12:51 |
| #2 Be very, very, very careful around gasoline fueld cars, the vapor is go boom. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2007-05-12 12:49 |
| #1 Wait for the blue flame explosions from the hydrogen cars of the future. |
| Posted by: RWV 2007-05-12 12:39 |