Accident for unable to brake efficiently: Tesla's or my fault? [early 2020]

[smatthew]

Dude，if you're just going to deliberately misinterpret whatever anyone writes， in order to suit your answer， you should just avoid the internet.

As for your answer, it's wrong. If you want to lessen the impact of whiplash, release your brake. Don't take my word for it, but ask anyone who knows a little physics.

I'm a physics teacher, and I didn't believe it at first, but one of my coworkers used to specialize in accident reconstruction, and he showed us the math. It's not intuitive, but it's true.

If you release the brake, you will be accelerated at a much higher rate, which leads to injury.

But don't take my word for it:

"If you hear the noise of a car braking, stomp on your brake pedal and push your back and head against the backrest and the headrest without turning your head. This will provide you with the best chance of avoiding a neck injury."

Reference: Foreman, SM, Croft AC. Whiplash injuries: The cervical acceleration/deceleration syndrome, 2nd ed., Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1995.

 

[KenC]

I'm a physics teacher, and I didn't believe it at first, but one of my coworkers used to specialize in accident reconstruction, and he showed us the math. It's not intuitive, but it's true.

If you release the brake, you will be accelerated at a much higher rate, which leads to injury.

But don't take my word for it:

"If you hear the noise of a car braking, stomp on your brake pedal and push your back and head against the backrest and the headrest without turning your head. This will provide you with the best chance of avoiding a neck injury."

Reference: Foreman, SM, Croft AC. Whiplash injuries: The cervical acceleration/deceleration syndrome, 2nd ed., Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1995.

Yay! I'll see if I can find and read the paper.

Intuitively, one would think the kinetic energy spike of a collision would be lower if the hit object in a collision can move with the direction of the impact, rather than be closer to an immovable object.

 

[Saghost]

Yay! I'll see if I can find and read the paper.

Intuitively, one would think the kinetic energy spike of a collision would be lower if the hit object in a collision can move with the direction of the impact, rather than be closer to an immovable object.

The energy dissipated by the impact is smaller, because some is transferred to the impacted vehicle instead. That’s all good for the car crashing in to you.

But your acceleration is higher, which means that while your car may be in better shape, it’ll be harder on your neck.

 

[FatherTo1]

I concur that the OP is at fault for the accident. Excessive speed, wet conditions, and delayed reaction factored into the collision. Even with OEM tires the OP is entirely capable of slowing the car with earlier preparation/reaction, otherwise the OP would be hitting every car before and after that intersection. Cannot blame it all on the tires in this case.

Another observation is there's clear view of the right/shoulder area several seconds before the light and it was all clear with no vehicles present or entering that space when the lanes merged. I can't speak for others but my normal reflex would have been to steer towards the open right side, knowing it was clear moments earlier.

That earlier video post of the long stoping distances with the Michelin PS4S was shocking. Regardless, even if you experienced a tire blowout or flat that compromised control of the car, you'd still be at fault for rear-ending someone. I don't see how that's any different here. You can invest in better tires or maybe play some video games to improve reaction time. Joking aside, cars in adjacent lanes were slowing down much earlier than the OP.

 

[Ketchups]

OP had plenty of space to come to a full stop, I’m very surprised the tesla travelled that far after the brakes were applied, even if the road was wet. It appeared to be an additional 10 feet the car continued to travel where it should have came to a complete stop 5 feet ago.

 

[ODWms]

I appreciate you posting this thread, definitely going to switch to PS4S when the M4MXs wear out.

I can attest that the PS4S are the best handling/performing tires I’ve owned in 4 decades of motoring, and countless, “high end” cars, hands down. I recently replaced my original 20s, and I would settle for nothing else, regardless of the lower prices I saw for some other brands. Luckily, the Tesla SC had them in stock and I was able to get them fitted right away. Otherwise, I would have had no problem waiting for them.

 

[chamshaw]

Hey all, I've got into a small accident couple months ago and hope we can discuss about this.

Dash cam recording goes first:

(I only blurred the license plate for privacy concerns. Nothing else edited, for example speed, resolution, color, etc)

This rear end accident happened last year, and luckily nobody was hurt. My Tesla insurance covered this, and I told them the brake was not working as intended right after the accident. I also called Tesla roadside assistance & service center to report this malfunction, and they promised I would get an investigation result within 8 weeks. Not surprisingly that didn't happen. So I'm still wondering who is at fault in this accident, because it seems obvious to me that the brake wasn't right. Or maybe I could be wrong and need to be more careful in similar situations.

Here're some key conclusions:

1. The road was wet but not raining when it happened, actually it showered in the morning and stopped about half an hour ago. Temperature was around 50°F - 70°F (10°C - 20°C), speed limit is 35mph.
2. My Model 3 LR AWD was very new with 2000 miles on it. It has the original 18'' aero wheels & tires. Manual driving all the time, no autopilot involved.
3. I started to brake right after I see the red light & front car slowing down, with regen first and then immediately pushed brake pedal hard. I pushed as hard as I could and it still hit the front car.
4. The wheel was making deep clicking sound, indicating ABS triggered, but car just won't slow down and tire is making abrasive sound.
5. No collision warning, no auto braking or any other safety features triggered (I enabled all safety features).
6. Brake & regen still working after the accident. Have't tried braking hard though as I don't trust it any more.

Welcome to share your opinions. Thanks in advance!

Too fast for the conditions, Sir.

 

[jjrandorin]

(moderator note)

Locked thread as it was necro resurrected for no specific reason after almost 2 years.