For First Responders, EVs Offer New Hazards

Interesting article about First Responders and how they handle an EV situation. Poor i MiEV got sacrificed in the name of safety. I'm wondering if they are done with it, if I could have those alloy wheels.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/car...t-responders-evs-present-new-hazards-14757450

Good article.

I told my wife, if she is involved in an accident with the Miev, get out of and away from the car as soon as possible.

MLucas said:

Poor i MiEV got sacrificed in the name of safety. I'm wondering if they are done with it, if I could have those alloy wheels.

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Wondering why they used an SE model, wouldn't a bare bones ES model been a better choice to destroy?

Good points regarding first-responder training and where NOT to cut into our iMiEV.

On the i-MiEV, for example, rescuers can pull out all of the fuses from a box within the engine bay, dropping the relays to the battery and killing the high voltage. If the fuses aren’t accessible, there's a secondary backup plan: a specifically designed and clearly identified "cut loop" inside the engine bay that responders can sever to kill the power.

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I need to look into our engine bay and find that "cut loop" as I don't recall seeing it. The only battery-isolating disconnect I know of is inside the passenger compartment between the front seats.

From that article, where they purposely put the iMiEV on its roof-

In one instance with the i-MiEV, when Moore and his team tried to reorient the vehicle from completely upside down to its side, the weight of the battery caused the vehicle to abruptly flop back onto its wheels. "I have never had a car do that," said Moore. "It was like that Weeble toy. It wanted to right itself."

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I loved that! Unlike what's seen on that video showing the "i" racing around on two wheels, I've personally become very confident in the iMiEV's stability. It would be interesting to find out where the CG is and how it compares with other vehicles.

Putting things in perspective, our iMiEV does not have gasoline onboard which to me is a far greater hazard than 'electricity' - after all, there were 187,500 ICE motor vehicle fires which occurred in the United States in 2011.
Ref: http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?...esearch/Fire statistics/The U.S. fire problem

After an accident, it's my understanding that it's usually best to stay inside the vehicle until things settle down - too many people get killed by other wayward vehicles after getting out unscathed.

oahumiev said:

MLucas said:

Poor i MiEV got sacrificed in the name of safety. I'm wondering if they are done with it, if I could have those alloy wheels.

Click to expand...

Wondering why they used an SE model, wouldn't a bare bones ES model been a better choice to destroy?

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Not to be mean about it, but I'm guessing there are more surplus SEs in inventory.

Take a closer look- it's not even a US-spec model. First hint is the black arch over the windshield and front-mounted antenna, and I think I can see the difference in the fenders. Rear windows were tinted, hopefully it was a test mule of some sort that had already been run through it's paces.

jray3 said:

Take a closer look- it's not even a US-spec model. First hint is the black arch over the windshield and front-mounted antenna, and I think I can see the difference in the fenders. Rear windows were tinted, hopefully it was a test mule of some sort that had already been run through it's paces.

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Didn't notice that part. Maybe its one of the test cars brought over here for journalist and power companies to test. Its probably cheaper to keep it here than sending it back and since it probably doesn't meet the US safety standards, can't be sold either. Give it to these guys to chew up and learn from.