<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cwerdna @ Nov 7 2007, 03:12 AM) [snapback]536020[/snapback]</div>

I wouldn't put it past them. It's easier to spread their lies on the internet, where standards aren't very high. It's basically an electronic gossip column. They wouldn't be able to get this kind of crud on to legitimate news organizations because it would have to be verified, which it can't be. Don't read online news, it's not worth your time. Of course, there are plenty of morons out in the world who don't need proof of anything. When people ask me about my Prius, I still get the same old debunked myths that you'd think would go away but never do. The common ones are, hybrid premium and that battery needs to be replaced. Considering that Prius sales go up seemingly exponentially every quarter, I'm guessing that people who buy Priuses in the first place have higher standards and don't buy what some hack on the internet says.

Emergency response information for hybrids has been available, and vehicle extrication instructors have been teaching it, for years. There is no excuse for responders not to have had the training by now. They shouldn't be waiting on car makers to show up on their doorstep to offer a class.

i dislike the media regarding this any many other subjects as well.

last year my 20 yr old cousin died in a auto accident on a campus here in Florida, the news up until this day says "He was taking a corner too fast", although the FHP report specifically says he was going straight and was not speeding.

Even if somehow people manage to explain to these news organizations that reports of electrocution hazards are based on no logical technical information, they would not care one bit.

prius shuts down the high voltage system in the event of a crash, even more why does the prius have so many relays up in the battery for, when are people going to learn.

of course the electrocution hazard isnt high, theres a chance of electrocution, but its certainly not even close to high.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JackDodge @ Nov 7 2007, 03:53 AM) [snapback]536063[/snapback]</div>

Well, it looks like the lame story was something aired on KCAL 2, a TV station in Los Angeles. The CBS 5 story was definitely aired as part of the 11 o'clock news in the SF Bay Area. Whether you consider them legit...

BREAKING NEWS!

Houses have an EXTREMELY high risk of electrocution, there's all these plugs with 120 volts available and unprotected by anything, most have a minimum of 15 amps, some higher! REMOVE THE HAZARD FROM THE HOUSEHOLD!

A family member actually called me last night, after this aired...to WARN me!!
:-(

It was a nice thought, and I had to do my best to thank her/tell her it's not quite that way...without making her feel like she shouldn't have called me in the first place.

Let me guess...in the pod of commercials immediately following that piece, there was a local/regional ad for a SUV sale at a Ford or GM dealership group...?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cwerdna @ Nov 7 2007, 01:12 AM) [snapback]536020[/snapback]</div>

The CBS News at 5 piece says if the power cables are cut the "person inside is electrocuted" implying the driver. The CBS 5 piece makes it clear that it's the rescuer at risk (since he's the one holding on to the cutting tool when it contacts the high voltage.)

The real problem is that it may have been a slow news day and stations need to fill up the available time with something, timeliness and accuracy be damned. Happens all the time in broadcasting. It's just a story to fill 30 seconds before they can go to a commercial. It's just "our ox that got gored" this time.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MikeSF @ Nov 7 2007, 01:38 PM) [snapback]536205[/snapback]</div>

FURTHER BREAKING NEWS!

Both HEV's AND straight ICE autos carry GAS which can EXPLODE in a massive FIREBALL.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cwerdna @ Nov 7 2007, 03:12 AM) [snapback]536020[/snapback]</div>

Anyone willing to bet money that when the fuel cell vehicle comes out(I doubt it, but you never know) it will never receive bad press that the new technologies usually receive.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(burritos @ Nov 7 2007, 03:34 PM) [snapback]536274[/snapback]</div>

Fuel cells? That'll be in just 10 more years ... oh wait ... that's what the auto makers promised 10 years ago ... and 10 years before that ...
I'd say their bad press is already here, and rightly so, as all it does is rob precious $ from EV development.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cwerdna @ Nov 7 2007, 11:51 AM) [snapback]536178[/snapback]</div>

local news stations? :lol: the ones around here are not much better than high school radio shows. If they don't bother to corroborate claims like this one then, no, they're not legit. Just another professional gossip. It's funny how TV types like to consider themselves to be journalists while not adhering to any of the journalistic precepts.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(banjoman @ Nov 7 2007, 03:11 PM) [snapback]536255[/snapback]</div>

And the rescuer shouldn't be at risk.

Well-trained responders should be safe if they implement normal and routine safety practices at an extrication scene. They should recognize the Prius as a hybrid when they see it. They should know what the orange cable is. They should know how to assure the car is powered off -- to protect against hazards unrelated to the hybrid but common to all modern vehicles, like air bag deployment during extrication (which I've seen). The vehicle itself provides an added safety feature, as Statultra mentions: The HV battery relays automatically open (i.e., shut off current flow) in the event of a crash that's sufficient to activate the supplemental restraint system. And finally, the risk of actually cutting into the cable is remote; it isn't routed through the car where they are likely to cut -- in and around the passenger compartment.

i suppose these stations dont have a forum where viewers can provide a response to these shows...

You hit the nail on the head. Undeployed airbags pose a much greater risk to someone reaching into the passenger compartment to extricate or evaluate an injured person than the high voltage system.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JimboK @ Nov 7 2007, 02:05 PM) [snapback]536358[/snapback]</div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveinOlyWA @ Nov 8 2007, 12:26 PM) [snapback]536771[/snapback]</div>

No forum, so I sent a complaint to the news director via email.

rob