I had a car crash and freaking out regarding the next steps

[AlanSubie4Life]

I won't show the video here,

As has been mentioned, we have a crack team of video investigators here at TMC, and we'll get to the bottom of this case quickly with the aid of video evidence.

I hope you get most of your down payment back. It doesn't sound like it'll be too bad. I hope everyone involved in the accident was ok, too; that's what really matters.

Those white lines are approx 10 feet in length.

They also have substantial space between them.

 

[acarney]

As has been mentioned, we have a crack team of video investigators here at TMC, and we'll get to the bottom of this case quickly with the aid of video evidence.

I hope you get most of your down payment back. It doesn't sound like it'll be too bad. I hope everyone involved in the accident was ok, too; that's what really matters.



They also have substantial space between them.

Oh you're right.... thanks for pointing that out... I wonder how much space....

Edit: Ok, research says 30 feet between the lines, 10 foot lines. So the start of one line to the start of the next is 40 feet. That means 10 lines would be 400 feet, which would be great follow distance, OP, your 10 white line guideline works, go for that!

 

[cerealzealot]

Those white lines are approx 10 feet in length. If you leave "10 white lines", 100 feet (1.13 seconds at 60mph) is "too close". You should leave about 30 of them in-between you.

Edit: Also, this suggests you were less than 100 feet behind the vehicle in front of you, at 75 feet you might not even have had time to hit the brakes before hitting the car. Less than one second between you seeing the car and impact. Would be very curious to know if the Tesla radar and active safety features applied the brakes for you and drastically reduced the force of the impact. It may have only been able to shave off 10 or 20 mph before the hit at those distances but that still would be a huge improvement.

You forgot the 30 feet distance between each white line.

As has been mentioned, we have a crack team of video investigators here at TMC, and we'll get to the bottom of this case quickly with the aid of video evidence. .

But I'm scared of showing the video when the case hasn't been resolved yet. Wouldn't that be a problem?

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

But I'm scared of showing the video when the case hasn't been resolved yet. Wouldn't that be a problem?

Oh, it may well be, and this is very prudent of you. It's up to you - it seems reasonable to wait until the case has been decided by insurance.

But for sure you should assume it is your fault with what has been described; it's nearly always your fault when you hit someone from behind. Probably best not to ponder anymore whether it was or not - just consider how to change your driving style to avoid this sort of crash in the future (I am sure it was avoidable). There is, after all, no such thing as a traffic accident. There are only crashes.

Very fortunately, it sounds like no one was hurt, and really that's all that is of any consequence here. You'll be out a few thousand it sounds like, but life goes on.

Anyway, this will be useful information for our Tesla Truther video investigation:

http://ppmoe.dot.ca.gov/hq/esc/oe/p.../2018-RSP-and-NSP/Entire-2018-rsp-and-nsp.pdf

(Incidentally, page 28 provides the answer for what those fences on US395 north of Adelanto are for - desert tortoises!!! This is a great find.)

Out of curiosity, what sensitivity did you have your FCW set to, and did it go off?

There's always been talk here about how Teslas can detect the speed of the car in front of the car in front of you. This is occasionally true (you will sometimes see two vehicles visualized in front of you), but this shows the peril in assuming that this is actually a reliable safety feature. Used in combination with human eyes, it is pretty awesome, for in many cases a human will pick up an issue prior to the car - and in many other cases the car will pick up the issue prior to the human. But it's no good and coverage is woefully incomplete if the human driving is not in charge of driving and attentive.

 

[acarney]

Anyway, this will be useful information for our Tesla Truther video investigation:

http://ppmoe.dot.ca.gov/hq/esc/oe/p.../2018-RSP-and-NSP/Entire-2018-rsp-and-nsp.pdf


Out of curiosity, what sensitivity did you have your FCW set to?

LOL

 

[karbomusic]

I don't know what I can say because I don't want anything to be returned against me. But so far it's an absolute clusterfuck.

I cannot get the person in charge on the phone, I always get voicemail. Since Friday early morning I've sent 3 emails of high priority, no response.

I'm sorry and I didn't read the entire thread but the above is 100% unacceptable IMHO. I can call my insurer 24/7 and on weekends, even to just ask a silly question about my policy, or make a claim or make changes to the policy. I did just that when I picked up my Model 3 - It came two days early on a Sunday but my state doesn't allow any type of overlap coverage between my trade-in and my new Model 3.

What that means is that I had to call them when the tires of my trade-in hit the Tesla dealership parking lot, make the necessary changes, drop the trade-in off the policy, add the Tesla, got the binder and the insurance card emailed and texted to me in less than 15 minutes on a Sunday. While I can appreciate what Tesla is trying to do, having such an accident and not having someone with you throughout the process is a total failure - after this, get someone else to insure you. Insurance can't be treated like a cutting edge high tech shiny car production, it's serious business.

 

[cerealzealot]

Out of curiosity, what sensitivity did you have your FCW set to, and did it go off?
.

I have no idea, but as soon as the pickup changed lanes and the stopped car was in sight the car started beeping like crazy and the autopilot braked.

 

[acarney]

I have no idea, but as soon as the pickup changed lanes and the stopped car was in sight the car started beeping like crazy and the autopilot braked.

And likely saved you from serious injury. Good job Tesla and automatic emergency braking.

 

[cerealzealot]

And likely saved you from serious injury. Good job Tesla and automatic emergency braking.

Exactly, if I was in any other car I *certainly* wouldn't have got out of it with no injuries.

 

[ThomasD]

That video can be used against you. It is evidence Since you showed it to the Cops it is most likely in the police report that there was video. Now your insurance and the other party insurance company can subpoena the video evidence.. Dashcams are a double edge sword

 

[mongo]

There's always been talk here about how Teslas can detect the speed of the car in front of the car in front of you. This is occasionally true (you will sometimes see two vehicles visualized in front of you), but this shows the peril in assuming that this is actually a reliable safety feature. U

The radar can pick up a decelerating vehicle, but a stationary one will likely get filtered out (like everything else).

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

The radar can pick up a decelerating vehicle, but a stationary one will likely get filtered out (like everything else).

Sure - without the video, hard to say. It does sound like it was totally stationary in this case. But even with it not stationary it'll only sometimes perform this function of picking up a decelerating vehicle. It's not magic.

 

[jjrandorin]

OP, if I was you, I absolutely would NOT post the video here. You gain absolutely nothing by doing so, except having random people on the internet who love doing that pour over it and provide critique's / commentary.

 

[MSPFL]

Usually insurance pays ACV (Actual Cash Value) not Replacement Cost, unless the OP got a Replacement Cost policy which is significantly more expensive. ACV will be lower than Replacement Cost. Trade in value will be a good approximation to ACV.

Look at this: How Car Insurance Companies Value Cars

I see where my post could have generated confusion. The term replacement cost an be used to imply replacement with a new equivalent. Not what I meant. In that case I would have said his insurance would pay for a new car. It won’t. It will pay for a replacement car of identical condition, age, mileage, wear and tear etc. So the idea is insurance pays replacement cost for a theoretical *identical* car. This obviously will be a much larger amount than one receive for trade in since no dealer would sell a car at the same price they bought it for.

 

[AlexP]

I see where my post could have generated confusion. The term replacement cost an be used to imply replacement with a new equivalent. Not what I meant. In that case I would have said his insurance would pay for a new car. It won’t. It will pay for a replacement car of identical condition, age, mileage, wear and tear etc. So the idea is insurance pays replacement cost for a theoretical *identical* car. This obviously will be a much larger amount than one receive for trade in since no dealer would sell a car at the same price they bought it for.

in any case, there are taxes, fees and depreciation that the OP will lose. Transportation fee of $1100 will be lost. Taxes are gone too. At 7% that's about $3000. If nothing else, OP will be out about $4k at the very least. Sad, but unfortunately the way the car business works.

 

[MP3Mike]

in any case, there are taxes, fees and depreciation that the OP will lose. Transportation fee of $1100 will be lost. Taxes are gone too. At 7% that's about $3000. If nothing else, OP will be out about $4k at the very least. Sad, but unfortunately the way the car business works.

The insurance should cover registration fees, taxes, etc.

 

[jeffbco]

OP, if I was you, I absolutely would NOT post the video here. You gain absolutely nothing by doing so, except having random people on the internet who love doing that pour over it and provide critique's / commentary.

Agree...and in fact I'd even stop posting commentary about the accident. As much as you don't think you are at fault, everything posted so far indicates that you were. Good luck in all this.

 

[Redbrick]

The radar can pick up a decelerating vehicle, but a stationary one will likely get filtered out (like everything else).

why is that? Seems to me that's a higher priority target than a slowing object...

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

why is that? Seems to me that's a higher priority target than a slowing object...

It's just how radar is set up to allow it to function. Keep in mind that most objects are stationary (for example, the road is stationary), so they have to be filtered out! It's a good thing to keep in mind when understanding the capabilities of the system.

Consider how the radar has to interpret a road is flat followed by an uphill. That's going to generate fairly strong returns that are stationary.

OP, if I was you, I absolutely would NOT post the video here. You gain absolutely nothing by doing so, except having random people on the internet who love doing that pour over it and provide critique's / commentary.

Such a party pooper.

 

[focher]

This is the first I’ve ever heard of the payment up front of the lease obligation (what people keep calling a “down payment”). Paying a cap reduction on a lease is somewhat commonplace, but that’s not what has been described here.

Leases aren’t that complicated. You start with the vehicle’s agreed value. Then you can pay a cap reduction to reduce the value. The value is then split between the residual value, which is the agreed value of the vehicle at the end of the lease, and the balance which is the basis of the lease payment. The balance is then multiplied by a lease factor, which includes the interest rate on the money. The total is then divided by the length of the lease.

Again, I’ve never heard of anyone prepaying a portion of that final total but maybe that’s a thing now.