I'm on my 2nd Prius, and I studied everything about these cars before I bought one.

The man whose daughter and dog were in the car when he was hit in his Prius said it "all cars have a risk."

Quite so. For example, the energy in one gallon of gasoline is equivalent to a stick of dynamite.

My wife's conventional car carries 17.5 sticks of dynamite equivalent in its gas tank, the Prius only carries 11.

So anyone could twist logic around and say the conventional car is obviously more dangerous than a Prius.

Or someone could say that the only safe cars on the road are diesels, since diesel fuel is not explosive.

But carcinogens come out of the tailpipe on a diesel car.

Nothing is without risk in this world.

It's managing risk as best we can that makes for a successful life and society.

I recall when I studied up on the Prius before I got my first one (since I had a 9 month wait, I had plenty of time). Toyota (and probably Honda and Ford) have been going around to fire halls and educating EMS, firemen and all first responders about hybrid safety. This will obviously relate to all-electric and fuel-cell (which are also hybrid electric) cars.

One thing not mentioned is having a high voltage hybrid car going in the drink. I understand it has been planned for and the system shuts itself down. No deaths yet attributable to a hybrid shorting in a water environment. Now, a doctor was driving near my home, made a wrong turn at night and plunged into the lake, drowning her and three children, two years ago. She was in a conventional SUV. The EMS people think the 12 volt electric windows shorted out and would not open.

Good article, though. But, just "don't panic."