Another Safety Tale... My Children Safe

[thefortunes]

Two of my sons and I were headed to the courthouse so that one of them (18) could vote for the first time.

On state highway 161, I stopped behind two other vehicles, waiting for the truck to turn left into a private drive. Between 3 and 5 seconds later, with zero warning, I was hit from behind at about 55 mph. I blacked out for about a second, regained consciousness, and steered the car off the highway. Luckily, the cars in front of me had cleared enough that I did not chain into them.

Immediately, the car turned on the flashers. I told my kids to get out, and they did. I walked back to the disabled car that hit me and checked that they were ok, then called 911.

We went to the hospital as a precautionary measure; a back strain for me, a lip contusion for my 18 year old (hit by my driver's seat, which broke from the force), and a minor harness abrasion for my 5 year old. I'm at home, resting now.

The other vehicle's occupants went to the hospital, their condition is unknown.

I'm convinced the outcome would have been far different in any other vehicle make.

Oh yeah, and all four doors still opened for escape, although they bound just a hair.

I'm very happy to say we avoided more serious injury by having this wonderful piece of engineering.

-c

I was rear-ended in a company car (Chevy Impala - yuck) in a similar situation (stopped, waiting to turn) by a Ford Explorer who the cops estimated was going 65mph. There were NO skid marks prior to impact and he was probably texting.

Similar looking damage to both vehicles (although my rear window blew out) and my passenger and I walked away. We were actually spun into oncoming traffic which, luckily, missed us.

Both front seats "broke" or "reclined" upon impact to the exact same angle. I believe (although I have never investigated whether this is true) that they were designed to do just that to minimize the forces upon your body in a rear-end collision..

REALLY glad you and your kids are ok, but my personal experience says that there are other cars that also can absorb that type of impact.

 

[FlasherZ]

a couple of questions. Is your S outfitted with the rear facing seats? (IE does it have the reinforced bumper) second you said your driver seat broke, is that reclined position where you had it set, or is it leaning back so far due to it breaking?

No, my original Signature car was outfitted with them but this one wasn't. Looking from the rear seats backwards, even without reinforcement I would say that kids back there would have survived, although they would be pretty damn scared!

I sit straight up when I drive, the accident caused the seat back to move rearward. The impact was substantial, I'm guessing that it's just a matter of the sheer force of the impact (and my weight in it).

 

[FlasherZ]

Did you ever make it to the courthouse to vote?

Unfortunately, no, and he is so bummed about it. I was able to vote, but for some reason when he obtained his permit the DMV registration didn't make it - so we were headed to the courthouse to do same-day registration for him.

We didn't leave the hospital until after 8:30 pm, after polls closed (we went for precautionary reasons).

 

[FlasherZ]

I have seen many rear-end accidents at varying speeds, and my experience is that it is extremely rare to have this little damage at this speed.

 

[10dot]

View attachment 350485

I'm glad you're OK! Also super happy I chose the same car seat seeing these pics and knowing your little one is OK. Diono Radian right?

 

[cmalinowski]

Two of my sons and I were headed to the courthouse so that one of them (18) could vote for the first time.

On state highway 161, I stopped behind two other vehicles, waiting for the truck to turn left into a private drive. Between 3 and 5 seconds later, with zero warning, I was hit from behind at about 55 mph. I blacked out for about a second, regained consciousness, and steered the car off the highway. Luckily, the cars in front of me had cleared enough that I did not chain into them.

...

-c

Glad you are okay. You did remember to hit the dashcam download button, right?

 

[FlasherZ]

I'm glad you're OK! Also super happy I chose the same car seat seeing these pics and knowing your little one is OK. Diono Radian right?

Yes indeed. Asher is 5, will be 6 end of this month. We're putting him in another full-harness seat when we get things fixed.

 

[FlasherZ]

Glad you are okay. You did remember to hit the dashcam download button, right?

Didn't have a USB key in it. Was frustrated that I didn't have that set up this morning.

That said, I did pull some data from my logs this morning. I'm guessing the reason I didn't hit the car in front of me is that the truck had turned and the car in front had just accelerated. It appears that I had started to accelerate approximately 0.5 seconds before impact and was traveling approx 7 mph when hit from behind. Even with the car's absorption of the energy, the impact accelerated me from 7 to 28 mph without applying any power (the drivetrain - both acceleration & regen - was disabled by the car immediately upon impact). It appears I was blacked out for approximately 1-1.5 seconds as the car freewheeled forward, then I regained control of the vehicle and pulled over, stepping on the brakes. I recall regaining attention and realizing the car was about to cross the center line before I pulled back to the right.

 

[dark cloud]

Sorry, but what's relevance of video of different car in completely different type of crash to prove whatever?
I can post the article, where model S got "acceptable" rating for off-center frontal collision. But again, what would be the relevance for rear-end crash?
But I see, yet another theoretical Tesla worshiper?


Sure, no problem, buy the "same category" car ($100k Volvo, BWM, Mercedes), I will sit in it and you can 55mph rear end it with your Tesla. I'm pretty sure I would not be injured more than OP.

And once more. I'm NOT saying Tesla is bad in crash situation. I just have concerns about "no other one than Tesla would make it"

The relevance is Tesla is the safest set of vehicles one can drive. Period. Front crash, side crash or rear crash; it doesn't matter. You don't need to be a Tesla lover to read the facts or understand the physics. I have nothing against Volvo but is probably second safest. Would you rather hit something with any Tesla with a large well-engineered crumple zone in front of you? or with your BMW and have its gas-pot in your lap?

 

[MikeBur]

Didn't have a USB key in it. Was frustrated that I didn't have that set up this morning.

That said, I did pull some data from my logs this morning. I'm guessing the reason I didn't hit the car in front of me is that the truck had turned and the car in front had just accelerated. It appears that I had started to accelerate approximately 0.5 seconds before impact and was traveling approx 7 mph when hit from behind. Even with the car's absorption of the energy, the impact accelerated me from 7 to 28 mph without applying any power (the drivetrain - both acceleration & regen - was disabled by the car immediately upon impact). It appears I was blacked out for approximately 1-1.5 seconds as the car freewheeled forward, then I regained control of the vehicle and pulled over, stepping on the brakes. I recall regaining attention and realizing the car was about to cross the center line before I pulled back to the right.

So sorry to hear of the collision, and hopefully knowing your car was sacrificed to protect you and yours gives some solace.

It’s surprising to me your car didn’t stop itself after initial impact though. I thought all modern cars did that now.
It’s scary to know that blackouts from severe impacts are not uncommon. Long time ago was hit at > 50 mph when stationary and surprised I survived after seeing the destruction of my car; thankfully the safety barrier in front of car stopped it from being pushed into motorway (70mph+) traffic. Took years to get back to “normal”.
Teslas are expensive, though they are a bargain in comparison to life.

Happy you and yours, as well as everyone else managed to walk away

 

[djlott]

No, my original Signature car was outfitted with them but this one wasn't. Looking from the rear seats backwards, even without reinforcement I would say that kids back there would have survived, although they would be pretty damn scared!

@FlasherZ First, let me say that I'm very glad to hear that you and your kids are safe. I really can't imagine what it's like going thru this and to wake up seconds after with the car rolling into the intersection!

Your pictures scared the sh*t out of me because I do have the rear facing seats and often tote my twins around back there. I've always had this lingering, uneasy feeling about rear-end situations even though they're supposed to be ultra safe back there. If it's not too much trouble, would you elaborate on what you saw in the back? You mentioned that the kids 'would have survived' but the normal rear seats being pushed so far forward look pretty bad to me. Any additional info you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Again, I'm very glad to hear that you and your family are safe.

 

[xrayangiodoc]

Any clue as to why the driver of the other vehicle failed to stop?

Glad you are all OK. Hope you can get back in a Tesla soon!

 

[RKBA]

Unfortunately, no, and he is so bummed about it. I was able to vote, but for some reason when he obtained his permit the DMV registration didn't make it - so we were headed to the courthouse to do same-day registration for him.

We didn't leave the hospital until after 8:30 pm, after polls closed (we went for precautionary reasons).

Hmm, now you've got me thinking that I'll make it a point to vote first thing in the morning from now on...

How did you download the logs?

 

[Jeff Hudson]

Tesla Crash: 55mph rear collision

The seat broke? That shouldn't happen in a rear-ender.

You do not have enough information to make that blanket statement.

 

[1375mlm]

Your pictures scared the sh*t out of me because I do have the rear facing seats and often tote my twins around back there. I've always had this lingering, uneasy feeling about rear-end situations even though they're supposed to be ultra safe back there.

OP mentioned that he didn't have the rear facing seats. Apparently, and with good reason, all models with rear facing seats are reinforced for safety against rear end accidents. I remember watching a video about Elon introducing the seats, and saying that he himself made sure the seats were just as safe as any seat in the car.
I also forgot where I saw this, but I remember a Tesla MS with rear facing seats getting rear ended by a large vehicle (again not sure of details), and the Model S seemed to have minor damaged, while the other vehicle was pretty much totaled.
Although if you are rear ended by a vehicle with a significantly taller ride height, it might pass right over the bumper and go straight through the windshield.
Although I trust Tesla, I think there's a reason it hasn't been done before, and personally wouldn't want my children to face that amount of G force from a reinforced bumper, as well as the fact that ventilation has been shown to suffer in that compartment.

 

[cmalinowski]

Hmm, now you've got me thinking that I'll make it a point to vote first thing in the morning from now on...

I love living in a state with early voting...