SOS International: All roadside assistance workers must have safety training in electric cars

Being unprepared to handle an electric car, with exposed wires after a traffic accident or when there is water or fire inside, can pose a serious safety risk. SOS International in Denmark has sent the first team of roadside assistance workers to train in the field of safe handling of electric cars.

The training is part of SOS International's Nordic business strategy, which focuses on competence development of the network and ongoing development of services to meet the car market demands:

“We consider this as a natural consequence of the development we see in the vehicle market, where more and more motorists choose environmentally friendly cars,” says Markku Reinikainen, Head of Nordic Network at SOS International.

Just as cars running on traditional fuel occasionally crash, electric cars, too, get in traffic accidents or other situations where roadside assistance is needed. But there are big differences in how to handle a damaged electric or hybrid car compared to a traditional car.

“It is important to us to ensure the safety of our rescue workers. That is why we train our roadside assistance network, so we can ensure that the roadside assistance workers know what to do when the voltage is high,” says Markku Reinikainen.

In the long term, SOS International’s entire Nordic network will be trained in proper safe handling of electric and hybrid cars.