Hybrid Cars Pose No More Danger Than Regular Cars For EMTs

[Henry]

Hybrid Safety Concerns:

Experts say hybrids are as safe as other vehicles, as long as rescuers follow procedures.

Toyota has sold more than 240,000 hybrid vehicles and none have caused injury to rescuers, according to a company spokesperson.

Read More - I am sure our local Fire & Rescue may use different rescue techniques, however the much hypped danger apparently doesn't exist according to Consumer Reports:

http://editorial.autos.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=435450

[fletchtb]

Henry - Are you in the market for a Prius? It seems like you have posted several times lately about the Prius and hybrids in general.

We bought a Prius back in November and love it. Right now we are getting almost 48MPG per tank and that should get even better as the weather continues to warm up.

[Henry]

Heard lots of good things about them - My 2004 van doesn't have 45,000 miles on it yet and is equipped with a wheel chair lift, so don't have any plans of trading.  My daughter next door has been talking about them though - You are the third person with one that I know that swears by them.

[cedarman]

Swears "By" them now, while they are new and working properly.  Personally,I wonder about their long term viability for those of us who try to get all of the longevity we can out of our cars.
As someone who does most of my own auto work, I think it will be a very long time before I own one.

I do agree they are a good fit for many people.   

"To each, their own"

[mkr]

Fletchtb how did you find driving it in the winter? 

[fletchtb]

We put studded snow tires on it and there wasn't a day this winter that my wife didn't drive it into Burlington into work. I think she would still prefer to drive our Honda Civic in the winter, but it did the trick.

The people who complain about the Prius and winter driving are most concerend about its Traction Control System, which primarily exists to not allow the driver to spin the tires so fast that it will burn out the electric motor. People have complained about the traction control system shutting down power to all wheels when going up snowy/icy hills. In most case those complaints are coming from people without snow tires on the car. Snow tires seem to alleviate most of the problem.

You can get a lot of information at www.priuschat.com

[NorthFairfaxBoy]

While I didn't read the article I attest that yes hybrids are safe for emergency personel to work in/around.  The vehicle can be made safe by simply disconnecting the vehicles regular 12 volt battery.