June 20, 2005

State Farm warns emergency workers about hybrid car safety

New York, New York - State Farm, the largest automobile insurer in the U.S., recently conducted a national education effort to inform fire departments and emergency medical service (EMS) workers about potential dangers when working around crashed hybrid vehicles.

The electrical lines in hybrids carry anywhere from 144 to 650 volts of power, enough to electrocute a worker who cuts them while freeing victims from a crashed car. The education effort offers information on how to identify hybrid vehicles and power them down, as well as other considerations to be made prior to cutting into various hybrid car bodies.

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