Going green? It may be important to inform yourself before buying a hybrid car.

First, a little bit of information about hybrid vehicles. According to an article on lovetoknow.com, there are currently three different types of hybrids on the market. The two most common are the series hybrid and the parallel hybrid. The series hybrid has an electric engine that runs the car once it reaches a certain speed, with gasoline being utilized solely to start and stop the car. The battery in this type of vehicle is larger than that in a standard car, and it is charged simply by driving. The wheels of the vehicle turn using only electrical power. This kind of hybrid is considered a good candidate for taxis and buses, since it is useful in sporadic start and stop traffic situations. The parallel hybrid uses both gasoline and electricity to start, stop, and power the vehicle. However, the electric engine is used when a more substantial boost of power is needed, and braking charges the battery. The battery in a parallel hybrid is much smaller than that of a series hybrid, and the vehicle is more suited for long distance trips. The third version of the hybrid utilizes aspects from both the series and parallel hybrids… so is this a hybrid of two different types of hybrids? This combined version is more like a series hybrid at low speeds, and the electric engine takes over at high speeds. There are other types of hybrids, but these are the most common. Some examples of hybrid vehicles you may have heard of include the 2006 Toyota Camry, the 2007 Mazda Tribute, the 2008 Dodge Durango, and the current poster child for hybrid vehicles, the 2009 Toyota Prius.

Many of these vehicles are already on the road, being purchased in an attempt to own a more fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly car. However, the article on lovetoknow.com states that even though, “The future of hybrid and alternative fueled cars looks to a bright future,” there are still some ‘hidden dangers’ that consumers should be aware of.”

One of the dangers that consumers should be aware of is addressed in an article on usatoday.com, which stated that a recent study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that hybrid vehicles are more likely to hit pedestrians because of how quiet they are. Bikers and pedestrians, especially those who are blind, cannot hear the cars approaching and therefore are more likely to be involved in an accident. The article also posted an excerpt from a blog done by Consumer Reports, which compared the rates of crashes involving pedestrians between hybrid and conventional vehicles. Out of the amount of vehicles studied, 0.9% of hybrids were involved in accidents with pedestrians, compared to 0.6% of conventional vehicles involved in the same sort of accidents.

Hybrid vehicles may also be dangerous to maintain. According to Sandy Nuebauer, store manager of O’ Reilly Auto Parts in Medford, the required procedures for routine maintenance of hybrids “are very specific, and mistakes can be dangerous or expensive.” Hybrid vehicles use an extremely high voltage system, so certain precautions need to be taken when servicing them. Some of these precautions include wearing insulated gloves without tears or any other damage, keeping track of warning symbols, such as orange coated wires and a triangle with an exclamation point or lightning bolt in the center, and making sure to switch off the HV (High Voltage) system, while waiting at least 5 minutes for the capacitors to discharge, before attempting to work on the vehicle. There are also very powerful magnets within hybrids, and Nuebauer warns that, “People with pacemakers or other magnetically sensitive medical devices really shouldn’t work on hybrids. The rotor assembly is made with strong magnets and could shut down a person’s pacemaker.” She sums it up by saying that, “Hybrids are definitely the wave of the future because of the fuel economy, the low emissions, and you still get performance from the hybrid vehicle. They are fast becoming an attractive car. However, any person purchasing a hybrid vehicle should ask many questions about how the maintenance is handled, because of the dangers involved. It’s not a self-maintenance vehicle.”

Another concern consumers may have is that of electromagnetic fields. An article on consumerist.com stated that, “Hybrids need to move a large amount of electricity near the driver which cause electromagnetic fields or EMFs.” This information is raising concerns about the possible health hazards EMFs may cause. Hybrid car batteries are also larger than conventional car batteries, and there is concern that their disposal may create an environmental hazard as well.

Despite these concerns, hybrids might still seem like a good option to replace all those “gas guzzling” cars and trucks. The growing number of hybrid vehicles on the road attests to the fact that a portion of the population believes in the future of hybrids, and an article on Wikipedia states that hybrids in general, achieve better fuel economy and release lower emissions than a vehicle using a regular internal combustion engine. Dr. Louis Pech, a biology professor at UWMC, echoed these sentiments in an interview with the Forum. When asked about the possible environmental hazard that hybrid car batteries may present, Pech explained that these batteries are similar to a lot of electronic waste made with heavy metals that can be recycled and used again, but has to be disassembled first. “There is concern that these kinds of things go to third world countries, where they’re disassembled under rather poor environmental conditions that can hurt people because they get exposed to these chemicals,’ Pech said. “Having said that, there are programs, for example, where you can send your cell phones and e-waste where they’re disassembled and stuff is extracted safely.” Pech states that although the initial mining of the metals is pretty hard on the environment, in theory, hybrid car batteries should be able to be recycled safely.

Pech also seemed skeptical about the claim that EMFs could cause dangerous health problems for hybrid owners. “Even when you’re running a conventional gasoline engine there’s a generator running, and electric fields. But most of the time when a hybrid is moving, it’s running off the gasoline engine. As my understanding is, there’s not a lot of good evidence out there that electromagnetic fields have really bad health effects.”

So are hybrids the best option for the future of automotive transportation? There are other alternatives for shorter trips. After all, it’s hard to find a vehicle that gets better gas mileage than a bicycle, and bicycles offer various health benefits as well. However, for those of us who need to travel a little bit farther, perhaps it’s up to each individual to make their own choice on if we will take part in the “wave of the future.” Perhaps simply to be informed first, before we purchase such a vehicle, is one of the best choices we can make as a consumer in the current automotive market.