Do you think a driver of the Model 3 or other Tesla could of survive this?

[Steve P]

There was a sad fatal drunk-driver incident in Temecula, California where a speeding pickup rear-ended a stopped Nissan Altima on the highway. Temecula: 1 killed, 3 hurt in chain-reaction crash on 15 Freeway captured on video; DUI suspect arrested
The Altima was demolished:


Does anyone think the Model 3, or other Tesla could have protected the driver or passengers any better?

 

[Tam]

...Does anyone think the Model 3, or other Tesla could have protected the driver or passengers any better?

People in Tesla do die in some accidents so Tesla is not deathproof but it's built better to withstand some scenarios.

So, if I have a choice between the Altima or Tesla, I would choose Tesla.


The Tesla Model S driver below was fine after being hit in the rear at stop and go traffic on freeway and the big 40 ton truck running at 60MPH didn't even apply the brakes according the Drive:

 

[Zythryn]

Does anyone think the Model 3, or other Tesla could have protected the driver or passengers any better?

Better? Yes. Not sure if it would have been enough to save their life though.

 

[Chancellor32]

Considering my unlce was hit head on by a wrong way DUI driver at over 80mph on the freeway in his Model X and all he broke was his tail bone. The guy who hit him..... dead. safe to say Tesla is about as good as it gets for safety.

 

[Leafdriver333]

That's aftermath of rescue effort.
The roof is cut out by firemen

 

[SomeJoe7777]

It's all about risk. The Tesla can reduce the risk of injury or death a lot, certainly more than the Altima. But there's no guarantee of any particular outcome.

We have seen some accidents posted here that show that the Tesla's reduce injury/death risk quite a bit. @Chancellor32 cites the one I remember in particular -- a wrong-way driver on the freeway hit a Model X head-on at freeway speed. The Model X driver had minor injuries and the wrong-way driver was killed instantly.

 

[Araex]

That's aftermath of rescue effort.
The roof is cut out by firemen

Have you seen the original video? That roof is gone.

(jump to 2:20)

 

[gene]

I spoke to a fellow on the phone two weeks ago, minutes after he had been in a high speed fwy accident in his Model 3. You know he was hit hard by a truck that rolled him over 4 times. Yet he was able to get out of the car and call me minutes later.

 

[KenC]

The Altima driver never had a chance. The pickup driver needs to go away for a long, long time.

 

[J X 3]

Wow that was violent, the pickup was beyond speeding and obliterated the Nissan, it just went through it.
Likely the speed was too high for survival, even if the cabin would not collapse, the change in acceleration was too much. You can build a car that survives but humans can't survive very high G forces.

Weight and crumple zone size would help. The car or the driver seeing the danger and accelerating would help. A seat that can slide backwards at the time of the impact would help too- assuming the cabin's structural integrity is not compromised.
It's also possible in some cases for the pickup truck to climb over the stationary vehicle and that could save the passengers if the cabin does not collapse. I suppose one could even design for it and try to deflect the impact that way.

In theory a FSD Tesla should try to run and reduce the speed gap between the 2 vehicles, steering being an option too ofc.

 

[RZRZ]

I don't think anyone with a Tesla or another passenger vehicle would've of survived this terrible crash.

I'm sad for the driver and family plus the other drivers that were injured or involved in this crash. This happened close to my house and we travel on that stretch of freeway frequently.

 

[Kuhz]

That's aftermath of rescue effort.
The roof is cut out by firemen

Yes. That’s what most people don’t realize. Many times the vehicle will look in a much worse state than immediately after incident due to the rescue efforts.

 

[kengchang]

Yes. That’s what most people don’t realize. Many times the vehicle will look in a much worse state than immediately after incident due to the rescue efforts.

That's aftermath of rescue effort.
The roof is cut out by firemen

Roof is gone after the impact, see the video

 

[Daniel in SD]

That is horrible and right near me. The truck went through the top of the car. I don't think that would be survivable in any sedan.

 

[Kant.Ing]

The only Tesla that can survive such impact is Semi.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

That's awful. Agreed, not survivable in any sedan; the aftermath clearly shows the truck took the entire roof of the sedan off. The shearing of the roof can obviously happen in the Model 3 as well; there's no easy way to make those as strong as the crumple zones. Must have hit at close to 60mph closing speed; he was probably going well over 100mph.

The woman had no chance, and it's just really sad to see.

 

[Msjulie]

That is horrific... worse that the drunk driver was driving a huge vehicle but anything going that fast is going to pack a punch on impact

 

[VT_EE]

That was disturbing to say the least. The pickup driver deserves to spend a very long time in jail.

 

[Steve P]

Have you seen the original video? That roof is gone.

(jump to 2:20)

At 2:50 you can see the Altima driver had no chance. Note also, you can see the drunk driver on the left staggering out of his truck on the shoulder. Why does it always seem to be that drunk drivers survive and the innocent perish?

 

[KenC]

At 2:50 you can see the Altima driver had no chance. Note also, you can see the drunk driver on the left staggering out of his truck on the shoulder. Why does it always seem to be that drunk drivers survive and the innocent perish?

Sadly, that's because they're already pre-anaesthetized.