When I had my accident in my mercedes, the driver's airbag did deflate, but all of the curtain airbags did not. I had to duck under my curtain airbag to get out of my car. You can see in this picture here all the curtain airbags on the left side are still inflated well after the accident. It completely blocks the windows so even if you break the windows you still have to also puncture the airbags to get to people inside. I'd imagine every car is like this.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Here comes another Tesla crash ...
- Thread starter steve841
- Start date
Followup to the Flamingo Road crash.
Tesla Slams Into Tree In Florida, Bursting Into Flames And Killing Driver Before Reigniting in Tow Yard
Car burst into flames again in storage lot.
Tesla Slams Into Tree In Florida, Bursting Into Flames And Killing Driver Before Reigniting in Tow Yard
Car burst into flames again in storage lot.
With regard to the witness statement that the door handles were flush and they couldn't open the door, wouldn't this apply to all cars though? Most modern cars auto-lock when you shift into drive. Yes, other door handles aren't flush like Model S, but it doesn't change the fact that you can't open the door if it's locked.
Cirrus MS100D
Member
I humbly eat my words and owe an apology that some internet searching indicates that some side curtain airbags can remain inflated for up to 2 hours after a crash.
No idea what the benefit is for this so maybe some crash/safety engineers can explain this? (Some articles said it was to keep people from being ejected from the car, others said rollover, but no real explanation for WHY they would remain inflated like a balloon.)
mtndrew1
Active Member
I would imagine the side bags need to inflate more quickly than front bags and that secondary impacts dictate it’s best for the bags to be inflated longer.
It’s probably difficult/expensive/whatever to inflate side bags quickly enough if they have venting like front bags do.
Cirrus MS100D
Member
Maybe? Some more internet searching by my non-expert self seems to indicate a lot of recent changes to side airbags rules from IIHS / NHTSA involves protecting those who aren't wearing seat belts (rolleyes.gif) and to that end, they encouraged stronger side glass to keep occupants inside the vehicle. Move one lever to account for one type of crash, resultant levers move to counter in a different type of crash. It's all a series of tradeoffs.
mtndrew1
Active Member
Sounds plausible. You’re right, everything is a series of trade offs and in this particular crash those trade offs weren’t ideal. I feel for the family.
There's no mention of the driver being conscious when they tried to remove the driver from the vehicle, so we do not know whether they were alive at the time.
mtndrew1
Active Member
I hope the driver didn’t burn alive; that absolutely terrifies me (in general, not in relation to cars).
I remember in the Model X fire in the Bay Area the car collided with a concrete barrier at highway speeds and the driver survived only to pass away at the hospital due to internal injuries. Of course the news was “Tesla driver dies in fiery crash” or some such.
Last edited:
I wonder. On crowded highways especially at high rates of speed, it’s possbile for your car to get hit by another car, bounce off the car or concrete wall/barrier and then spin into traffic again and get hit again. For reasons like that I’m thinking they don’t deflate.
X Fan
Active Member
+1
We carry one front and back on both sides, in both of our X’s. We have waterways to worry about in Naples plus NC and want to ensure that everyone in the vehicle can exit if needed.
Of course in this accident it’s posible the driver couldn’t have exited due to injuries. However, folks that arrived just after accident could have punctured glass if they readily had one available.
Apart from secondary impacts, I have to wonder since the windows are tempered glass and many times still intact after a collision if it doesn’t also offer the passengers some protection from glass when the window glass is broken during rescue.
Dpc131
Member
Volunteer firefighter from years ago....Laminated glass in the front keeps people from flying out through the front window (most probable ejection direction.) Tempered glass on side windows protects passenger from shards, i don’t recall ever hearing about it providing reduced ejection resistance. it is MUCH more difficult to break (think of glass on your phone) if you don’t know how. Most people will take a large object and strike the window. Our old trick was a nail or even swinging an old antenna with the knob at the top. Also, I didn’t know about side curtains not deflating since they were really new when I did auto rescue, but it may be to contain the occupant since tempered glass does not.
Also, IIRC on average we went to more auto fires due to mechanical malfunction then on accidents, but most auto fires in gasoline engines were secondary to the accident (I.e. leaking fuel with an ignition source)
Dpc131
Member
And as sad as these things are, there just recently was an accident around here about a month ago that just claimed the sixth victim (the passenger) the other 5 were so sadly children under the age of 15. It made news in DC, but I’ve never heard it mentioned outside of the area.
It is devasting serious auto accidents occur and we all are so much safer in our vehicles than we were years ago, but the publicity of “clickable” accidents involving high profile vehicles is mostly because they drive people reading the stories and don’t necessarily represent trends.
It is devasting serious auto accidents occur and we all are so much safer in our vehicles than we were years ago, but the publicity of “clickable” accidents involving high profile vehicles is mostly because they drive people reading the stories and don’t necessarily represent trends.
The reason is almost certainly rollover. My girlfriend rolled her Ford Explorer. It rolled over 5 times. Side airbags would have helped a lot as long as they stayed inflated throughout the event. By contrast, frontal impacts are usually single events. There are exception but just look at this accident. It was one frontal event.
Maybe the driver had been drinking and had an open bottle of booze in the car? Something with a high proof?
Man killed in car fire near Chrysler Jefferson Plant
Detroit — A man was killed in a crash Saturday morning near the Jefferson North Assembly Plant on Detroit's east side, police said.
The crash occurred at 5:07 a.m. Saturday near Mack and St. Jean while the man was on his way to the Chrysler stamping plant.
Police say the unidentified driver attempted to pass a vehicle en route to work when he lost control of his Cadillac Escalade, slid on ice and hit a pole. The car burst into flames. The driver was pronounced dead on scene, police said. Police initially said the man was an employee of Chrysler; however, an FCA spokeswoman said the man worked for a supplier.
Where is the Business Insider on this one? Just a blurb and nothing from the Motor City's rag. A complete tragedy. These happen every day. This one three days ago.
Tesla is a marked brand. For better or worse. Already three co workers asking me about do I feel safe in my Teslas? Safer than ever I respond. Now go talk to the guy down the hall that bought one.
Detroit — A man was killed in a crash Saturday morning near the Jefferson North Assembly Plant on Detroit's east side, police said.
The crash occurred at 5:07 a.m. Saturday near Mack and St. Jean while the man was on his way to the Chrysler stamping plant.
Police say the unidentified driver attempted to pass a vehicle en route to work when he lost control of his Cadillac Escalade, slid on ice and hit a pole. The car burst into flames. The driver was pronounced dead on scene, police said. Police initially said the man was an employee of Chrysler; however, an FCA spokeswoman said the man worked for a supplier.
Where is the Business Insider on this one? Just a blurb and nothing from the Motor City's rag. A complete tragedy. These happen every day. This one three days ago.
Tesla is a marked brand. For better or worse. Already three co workers asking me about do I feel safe in my Teslas? Safer than ever I respond. Now go talk to the guy down the hall that bought one.
Can we talk about the door handles for a minute. The silly fire discussion is getting old. Please don't feed the troll. Just ignore him.
I'm a little concerned about the fact that people reported they could not open to doors because the handles were flush. The handles don't even have any mechanical link to the locking mechanism. It's just a sensor that sends a signal to the door locking mechanism. In a crash that system can fail (lack of 12 Volt power) meaning the doors can't be opened. It looks like that's what happened here.
I'm a little concerned about the fact that people reported they could not open to doors because the handles were flush. The handles don't even have any mechanical link to the locking mechanism. It's just a sensor that sends a signal to the door locking mechanism. In a crash that system can fail (lack of 12 Volt power) meaning the doors can't be opened. It looks like that's what happened here.
I think that can happen in a lot of cars in a crash even with a handle to pull on. Many modern cars lock the doors over a certain speed. I imagine that results in locked doors after a crash like this.
Similar threads
