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San Francisco - : Chevrolet Onstar Electric Vehicle Technology

Chevrolet and OnStar are developing a first responder training program to educate firefighters, police, and EMTs on electric vehicle technologies like those in the Chevrolet Volt. The training will cover locating high-voltage components, disabling the vehicle in an emergency, and the vehicle's safety features. It will begin at industry conferences this summer and include sessions in several major cities where the Volt will launch later this year. The goal is to ensure first responders understand electric vehicles and can safely handle emergencies involving them.

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42 views

San Francisco - : Chevrolet Onstar Electric Vehicle Technology

Chevrolet and OnStar are developing a first responder training program to educate firefighters, police, and EMTs on electric vehicle technologies like those in the Chevrolet Volt. The training will cover locating high-voltage components, disabling the vehicle in an emergency, and the vehicle's safety features. It will begin at industry conferences this summer and include sessions in several major cities where the Volt will launch later this year. The goal is to ensure first responders understand electric vehicles and can safely handle emergencies involving them.

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As a former firefighter/paramedic, I am glad to see that automakers

are providing training for first responders before a new type vehicle
hits the streets and forces them to "learn from experience." Training
and preparation is key to successful incident response and reaction.

When hybrids first hit the mass market about a decade ago, I grabbed
a Toyota Prius and a Honda Insight from the press fleets and visited
several area fire departments here in north Texas to give emergency
personnel the opportunity to see the vehicles up close and learn the
facts surrounding how to respond to emergencies involving these
vehicles.

I believe that everyone can benefit from a bit of knowledge concerning


the operational characteristics of the coming wave of electric vehicles,
as well as current hybrids that are capable of operating in electric-only
mode. Warning, a little conscious re-thinking may be involved.

First and foremost is that these vehicles are nearly silent. Care has to
be taken to ensure a vehicle operating in electric mode is somehow
disabled from motion – be it via ignition switch, gear selector, parking
brake or physical obstruction.

Second would concern the high voltage battery systems these vehicles
carry. Most current hybrid vehicles not only have the traditional 12-volt
car battery we are all familiar with but contain a secondary sealed
battery pack somewhere in the rear area of the vehicle that generates
in the neighborhood of 300 volts direct current (DC). Automakers have
adopted an industry standard of signifying high voltage wiring and
connections by the use of the color orange. (Red is still the standard
for the 12 volt system.)

Here is the release from Chevrolet and OnStar regarding first


responder training currently being developed:

San Francisco – Chevrolet has joined with OnStar and leading


national first-responder organizations to announce the first automotive
manufacturer-sponsored training program to educate first responders
nationwide on electric vehicle technology.

The announcement was jointly made today at the San Francisco Fire
Department with leaders of Chevrolet, OnStar, the International
Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), International Association of Fire
Chiefs (IAFC) and the National Emergency Number Association (NENA).

“Technological changes in the automotive industry require changes in


fire and emergency service operations as well,” said Chief Jack Parow,
first vice president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. “The
IAFC is proud to work with Chevrolet and OnStar to ensure that fire
responders are adequately trained in how to work with the new
technology, both for their own safety and the safety of those they
serve.”

The training sessions will feature the Chevrolet Volt and will begin at
the IAFC’s Fire-Rescue International Conference, Aug. 23-27 in
Chicago. Together with OnStar, Chevrolet will also display the Volt at
the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials conference
Aug. 1-4 in Houston, and at the NENA conference, June 5-10 in
Indianapolis. Chevrolet and OnStar will host first-responder sessions in
Volt retail markets later this year including San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Detroit and Washington, D.C.

“We believe a first-responder education program is very important to


raise the awareness and understanding of electric vehicle technology,”
said Carmen Benavides, director, Chevrolet Safety. “This is a natural
extension of the collaborative efforts we’ve had in the past when
introducing new safety and other leading technologies.”

During the past several months, Chevrolet has collaborated with first-
responder representatives from national safety organizations to
develop educational materials for firefighters, law enforcement,
emergency medical technicians and emergency dispatchers
nationwide. This will help ensure the training meets the needs and
answers the questions their colleagues are likely to have about electric
vehicles.

Their feedback is being incorporated into training materials that will be


available on the tour and posted on a targeted Web site for
departments unable to attend the training sessions.

The training will include animation and illustrations of the Chevrolet


Volt, highlighting locations of high-strength steel, cut points for
extrication, first-responder labeling, automatic and manual electrical
shut-off and more.

The Chevrolet Volt’s safety features include safeguards before, during


and – thanks to OnStar -- after a crash. Before a crash, the Volt’s safety
technology includes standard anti-lock brakes with traction control,
StabiliTrak electronic stability control and daytime running lamps. In
the event of a crash, the Volt uses occupant protection features such
as high-strength steel, crash sensors, eight standard air bags and
safety belts with dual pretensioners to reduce the risk of injury. After a
crash, the Chevrolet Volt has the added protection of OnStar, which
uses built-in vehicle sensors to automatically alert an OnStar advisor in
certain types of collisions. The advisor is immediately connected to the
vehicle and can request that emergency help be sent to its location.

Chevrolet expects the Volt to achieve high safety ratings in


government tests. More than 50 crash tests at various speeds and
angles have been conducted in the development of the Chevrolet Volt
to date, including front, side and rear impacts as well as rollovers. The
Volt’s body structure is made up of nearly 80 percent high-strength
steel and includes optimized restraint systems.

Chevrolet has been working to get the country ready for electric
vehicles such as the Volt for the past several years. In the time since
the Volt was announced as a production program in 2007, Chevrolet
has joined with the Electric Power Research Institute and 10 major
electric utilities across the country, collaborated with several local and
state governments in key states, and met with city stakeholders in
important markets to help ensure widespread consumer adoption of
electric vehicles. The Chevrolet Volt will launch in select markets late
this year.

Here is the video from GM:

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