In Part 1, I covered some basic emergency management concepts and discussed how modern connected EVs help prevent accidents and mitigate consequences. Now I’m going to end the discussion with preparedness, response and recovery from car accidents and other events.
preparedness
There are some accidents that simply cannot be prevented or made less harmful. Even if there is some mitigation, we still need to be prepared for the consequences that the state of emergency has still reached.
When it comes to crashes, EVs offer a number of significant benefits. First, with instant power on tap rather than waiting for an internal combustion engine to rev up or a turbocharger to spool up and boost (aka “turbolag”), we can propel us out of dangerous situations. Often braking is the solution, but sometimes it’s best to get out of a situation to avoid the wreck. That ability is important, and EVs usually have that ability in spades.
If you need to stop instead of nailing the accelerator, EVs are the place to go. If you have regenerative braking enabled, the car will start to slow down as soon as you take your foot off the pedal, and you have already lost energy by the time your foot reaches the brake pedal and starts pushing. That little bit of extra braking and time can be a great tool for preparing for difficult driving situations.
Outside of wrecks and other forms of readiness, it is difficult or impossible to make fuel for a combustion car at home. For gasoline, you may be able to keep some fuel on hand with stabilizer, but that is a chore and storing large amounts of gasoline can be dangerous. For a diesel, you may be able to make fuel from cooking oil at home, but you still need cooking oil.
For an EV? Well, you can charge it at home with home solar energy. You want battery storage to make sure the system works with the mains off, but it’s worth it to store that energy and run your home and vehicle even after hurricanes or, heaven forbid, an EMP disaster. solar powered such as the Carrington Event.
Better yet, upcoming vehicles like the Sono Sion and the Aptera have built-in solar power to charge the vehicle completely off-grid. That may not seem super convenient (because it only adds 20-40 miles of range per day), but you’ll never see anyone with an oil rig, refinery, and gas pump built into their vehicle that can start producing fuel in the parking lot.
Also keep in mind that gas pumps don’t work during power outages, so you’re in the same boat as EV drivers, but EV drivers can get around this at home with solar power.
While we probably won’t see a situation where the grid goes out for months or years at a time in the long run, being prepared for the power outages that come after storms (which seem to increase in intensity and frequency) can make things a lot easier for family and business. after a major disaster. Even if you don’t have solar in your house, it’s still possible to charge 120 volts on the larger solar generators, and you can get power from the car in that case.
Answer
Coming back to crashes, the connected nature of most modern EVs gives you an edge. Systems like OnStar have been around for decades for combustion-engined cars, but a system that can call for help if you’re knocked out after a wreck will likely still work in a heavier car with better crash safety technology.
So for accident response, an electric car can have an edge over a car with a connected combustion engine that could mean the difference between life and death. I don’t know about you, but I want my family to have the best chance when I’m out there confused and unconscious.
As truly autonomous vehicles appear, they will likely be able to help you with other types of emergencies. If you lose blood flow for any reason (such as a heart attack or stroke), you only have six minutes to get someone to help you before the damage starts to become permanent. If you pass out, the vehicle can come to a safe stop and the vehicle can quickly call for help. That can mean the difference between living and dying, or living with a permanent disability that could have been prevented.
recovery
While the car (especially after a wreck) can’t help you recover from car accidents and other more “routine” emergencies, the car can be a big part of helping you and your community recover from major events such as storms, hurricanes and worse things like a solar-powered EMP event.
Being able to drive and transport people, supplies, food and water in and out of an area without power and fuel can make a big difference to people while restoring power and fuel. If you have a solar-powered car (the upcoming Sion and Aptera are great examples), you can even give people the power they need to fix things in the community. This means that your area needs fewer resources that can go to other people who don’t have a neighbor with an EV.
Even if your car can’t generate power, it can carry much of it from your own solar panel if you have one, or from outside the affected area. Nissan even has experimented with the idea of using a LEAF for self-propelled energy storage and response.
It comes down to
If you’re a prepper, or just someone who wants to keep themselves, their family, their business and their community safer, a modern connected EV is not only a solution, but in many cases it is. the solution. An EV can do things that no other vehicle can, and when other cars can, the EV usually does better.
So I would seriously consider getting one.
Featured image of Nissan.
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