It doesn't matter how low the chance of a side impact is. It could happen. And all it needs is that one impact where a civil service member is injured by your car to start a lawsuit.

Happened with the Pinto: For all the over paranoid safety issues loyalists claim it took one accident claiming the lives of 4 young girls to force Ford's hand.

 

Farked up... you are

You haven't experienced enough accidents to know.
I witnessed (pun intended) one outside a church parking lot about 2 years ago. An elderly woman in a Cavalier was stopped, waiting to turn left into the church parking lot. Some 16 year-old guy in a small Toyota pickup didn't see her in time, swerved left to avoid her, but clipped her left rear/center rear, pretty hard. Moved the Cavalier about 30 feet forward. The pickup sailed into the parking lot and stopped about 200 feet from the collision-point. He was okay. All this happened about 15 minutes after church had let out, so thankfully MOST people had left the parking lot, and no one else was involved. We went to help the elderly lady in the Cavalier, and direct traffic. She had the driver's window down, so we could talk to her. Although she was dazed, this was probably a good thing, since the car doors were jammed. We could only offer her water and comforting words. Very soon the emergency crews showed up and took over. They had to CUT PART OF THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE CAR AWAY in order to get to her to pull her out. Remember this was NOT a t-bone, NOT a nasty high-speed head-on collision, NOT an accident you'd THINK would require such efforts. The emergency crew was paying close attention all the while of the gas tank, that had been pushed forward, so as not to spark a fire or cut into it. In an accident, you see, parts sometimes aren't left where the designers placed them initially

And your points about the minimal nature of the need for emergency crews to know about the Hybrid-ness of the car are shallow. A risk factor exists, PERIOD. Whether YOU care about that risk or not does not matter. Take your badges off if you like. I like the clean look, as well. So I understand your reasoning. And, I have no problem with it. Just don't minimize a real potential (however small in your eyes) risk to the emergency crews needing to cut into a hybrid vehicle that doesn't shout "hybrid" and can easily be mistaken for a regular Civic. There is an increased safety factor by keeping the badges on. It is THE major IDENTIFICATION PROCESS for the emergency crews. (They are not told about the whip antenna at the roof-rear, or some hybrid-only colors, or the slightly different dash & interior in the official HONDA EMERGENCY RESPONSE GUIDE (2006 Supplement), nor in the general Quick Reference Quide - only the badge is mentioned to identify a hybrid.) The roof-mounted antenna IS mentioned in the original HONDA EMERGENCY RESPONSE GUIDE, as is the distinctive orange cabling (that they have to THINK about looking for - but should). This will become more commonplace and more ingrained in emergency crews' thinking as hybrids become more common, but for now, I believe identification is still an issue.
And some folks consider added badges a plus. Mostly for show, sure, but the additional safety factor for emergency crews figures into (some of) their decisions.

Don't entirely dismiss the badges' role, or the potential for needing to cut into a car to get someone out. It happens more often than you may want to think. And even if it's 1 in a 1000 cases where knowing the difference IS important, it's still important.

 

Is this the same badge that is on the rear of the car or is it a smaller size item?

 

kristian - Don't you mean you would give us a bad rep by driving OVER the speed limit? I thought we were SUPPOSED to drive under the speed limit. Some of my friends knock me for doing this and laugh but they hush up when they have to stop for TWO trips to the gas station for 18 gallons each and I stop once for 10 gallons and then all they hear is me laughing. Those are fun trips.

 

Flash: It's the exact badge. I think kirstian means that when people drive slow in hybrids it is supporting the myth that hybrids can't go fast.

 

Or that we ALL drive slow.

 

Righto. I like the side badge actually.

I'm proud to announce that I had one of my few 60.x mpg days and that was covering at least 50 miles around the Pittsburgh area (aka "hilly). We then had a friend in from out of town and it was dreadfully hot but what other car am I going to want to drive -- so I reluctantly turned on the A/C. Amazingly, I was still able to get about 56 mpg on the day of a 40-mile sightseeing trip of houses and areas and such. This car never ceases to amaze me.