High Voltage Danger: Emergency Responders and Hybrid Cars

Emergency responders have known the dangers of gasoline for a long time: it is a toxic substance with explosive flammability.

Now,  hybrid vehicles are posing new challenges - they combine high voltage wires with tanks full of gasoline.

• » See also: Prius Sales Could Soon Outpace Camry, Says President of Toyota U.S.A.
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Traditional Response

When responding to accidents, turning cars off is a priority of emergency responders - a car that is off poses much less of a hazard than one that is on. Due to the nature of accidents — twisted metal, fire, smoke, etc. — this task can be exceedingly difficult, but emergency responders have demonstrated their expertise in dealing with these problems.

New Challenges

Now hybrid cars are further compounding the dangers of rescue by throwing high voltages into the mix. A crashed hybrid can be charged with 300 to 500 volts, an amount that poses a real danger to rescue workers. The danger of crossed wires means that just touching the car could get you shocked, not to mention cutting the car open or using the jaws of life.

Is it On?

Anyone who has been in a hybrid knows the eerie feeling when you pull up to a stop light and the engine turns off. The car is still on, but it is running solely on electricity. This silent mode of operation makes it difficult for emergency workers to tell if the car is off or just running on battery mode. Merely turning the ignition off is not enough - emergency workers have to disconnect the battery as well.

More Choices, More Questions

Emergency workers continue to get training on how to deal with various emergency situations. As alternative fuel technologies like hybrid electric, electric cars and hydrogen fuel cells progress, proper identification of the vehicle and fuel technology will become more and more important.

Image credit: wrhowell at Flickr under a Creative Commons license

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