Is a crashed hybrid dangerous to first responders? How about an airbag that deploys during in-seat CPR? Missouri, at least, thinks a little training is called for:
"With hybrid cars and airbag safety features becoming more common, it's essential that our first responders to crash sites know how to handle the potential dangers of undeployed airbags and high-voltage vehicle battery systems," says Bill Whitfield with the Missouri Highway Safety Division. [...]
Dave Long, nationally known as "The Airbag Detective," will deploy several live airbags and side airbags to educate first responders on the safest way to work around undeployed airbags. "Airbags save lives, but undeployed airbags also present responders with serious issues when it comes to crashed vehicles," says Long. More than 70 percent of new model vehicles have side or side curtain airbags in approximately eight different locations.
I can imagine people attending this training just to watch Mr. Long deploy airbags, something I've never even seen. (For that matter, I didn't know there was an "Airbag Detective.") But whether you're talking airbags, hybrid batteries, or hydrogen fuel cells, I wouldn't want to be figuring this stuff out on the fly at the scene of a crash. Clearly this is needed, and not just in Missouri.
[Source: Moberly Monitor via AutoblogGreen]
