On August 14, 2003, power went out across the northeastern United States and parts of Canada.  Tens of millions were without power.  For some, the blackout went for two days before power was restored.

According to Scientific American:

All told, 50 million people lost power for up to two days in the biggest blackout in North American history. The event contributed to at least 11 deaths and cost an estimated $6 billion.

Had it occurred in the winter, those deaths would have been higher from the cold.

What saved lives was the ability to drive without having to charge vehicles.

That would not have happened with electric vehicles that could not charge.

According to History:

The outage stopped trains and elevators, and disrupted everything from cellular telephone service to operations at hospitals to traffic at airports. In New York City, it took more than two hours for passengers to be evacuated from stalled subway trains.

It took two hours just to evacuate subway cars.  How long would it take for tunnels and bridges filled with electric cars that have no power?  The clearing of a single highway would take days if it was filled with dead-battery vehicles.

During that outage, even those people who endured two days without power still had a means to leave where they lived and worked.  They could go to the stores to get food and get to hospitals when needed.

Electric vehicles mean none of those things happens in a blackout of that magnitude.  During a major blackout, people need to be able to drive.

Those people trapped in elevators were able to get out sooner, because people had access to vehicles that did not rely on electricity.  Those same people who got them out were not spending time clearing out cars that blocked the roads due to having no power.

Ambulances need to be able to run, along with all other emergency service vehicles.  Take that away, and death and chaos follow.

The northeastern blackout came about not because of some weather-related disaster, but because of a tree brushing against the wrong line.  It was a fluke that cost fewer lives than had it been a weather-related disaster, particularly in the winter.

Power outages happen in every state.  That next northeastern could happen anywhere.  People need to be able to drive when it does happen.

Electric cars are not the answer when lives are on the line.  The proven internal combustion engine is.

They are not just the wrong answer; they add to the problem.  The more electric vehicles there are, the greater the stress on the power grid.  It leads to more blackouts.

Human safety should be the priority with vehicles, which electric does not provide.

Bob Ryan is a writer who has an MBA.  He is an American Christian Zionist who staunchly supports Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state.  He has been a weekly blogger at the Times of Israel since 2019.

Image: Pixabay, Pixabay License.