Model 3 Accident, Is this car really safe to drive?

[mhan00]

Just a sore chest and then the ride to the hospital for surgery for a burst appendicts, that has been no fun and the pain was incredible. Enough that I passed out. And it went from an annoying stomach pain to full blown incapacitating pain in under a minute

A sore chest would likely be the least of your worries (I’m assuming the burst appendix wasn’t a result of your accident but rather the cause) if your airbags had been needed and didn’t deploy. As others have posted, airbags are extremely dangerous in and of themselves. Things happen so quickly in a violent accident that they don’t have time to slowly inflate to provide a soft surface to gently impact against; they essentially have to explode into existence and can seriously injure or even kill people. They’re there to prevent probable death/extremely serious injury from impacting against hard, immovable surfaces/instruments in the car by providing a more malleable surface to impact against, and reduce probable death to injury/severe pain.

 

[surfrasch]

Ok....let me post a more updated video. Same car....updated autopilot ….it recognizes poles and the location of stop lights and signs. Radar isn't precise enough to see all of those super thin poles. Pole recognition in this video has to be cameras.

for example....stop lights are labeled as 4's. Poles are 1's and 2's. 3's are signs. etc...…

Notice the moving speeds of cars and such....they are relative to the Tesla ….not relative to standing still. I think that's sooooo cool.

Well that’s cool, how did you get that movie?

 

[bigroccrek]

Looks like someone has done a copy and paste job with the OP - Tesla Model 3 , is this car really safe to drive?
And not a very creative one.

Wow! Someone copied my post and put it there! Damn, nothing is sacred

 

[SMAlset]

Wow! Someone copied my post and put it there! Damn, nothing is sacred

And notice the car pictured is an MX. Scum site, clearly one set up by short-seller, noticed all the titles down the side were basically anti-Tesla. Sorry I bothered to look but yeah, it's your story told by someone else.

 

[voip-ninja]

Wow! Someone copied my post and put it there! Damn, nothing is sacred

That's why it's a good idea to be as rational as possible with posting and not let emotions get in the equation.

I'm quite happy for you that you got the needed medical attention for a ruptured appendix. Most people don't know that around 50,000 Americans die of appendicitis every year.

 

[rmfpdx]

I was in an accident on Tuesday 18 December at approximately 12:30 pm while driving my Model 3. I experienced a medical emergency which caused me to completely black out while driving. I am seriously concerned about what did and did not happen as a result of the accident. First my Model 3 left the roadway after I became unconscious and struck a telephone pole. I do not know how fast I was traveling at the time of the collision with the pole but I do know the car was crumpled half way to the firewall.

None of the airbags deployed, not one. How can a front end collision of this magnitude not result in any airbags deploying. The car also never alerted Tesla that an accident had occurred?? I confirmed this by speaking to the Tesla Service Center and they reviewed the data pulled from the car. They said all they were getting is that some “secondary systems” were reported malfunctions.

Now I need to determine if the car is repairable or not and then decide if I even want the car. I purchased the Tesla for several reasons, one of the biggest being it’s safety rating but I have serious concerns about the “real” safety.

I am really uncomfortable driving the Tesla in the future with my family inside if the safety systems do not function.

I would like to escalate this accident to someone who can provide answers. Both people I spoke to at the Service Center after seeing the pictures said that absolutely the airbags should have deployed and absolutely an accident message should have been transmitted to Tesla.

I would also think that Tesla would be very interested in finding out why they car did not function properly.

Did you report this to the NHTSA? You really should if not.

 

[pschubert61]

Was autopilot on? Most likely toe crash was not fast enough in the deceleration on impact to activate airbag. One aspect is rate of deceleration of the car to fire off the airbag.

 

[pdq]

I was in an accident on Tuesday 18 December at approximately 12:30 pm while driving my Model 3. I experienced a medical emergency which caused me to completely black out while driving. I am seriously concerned about what did and did not happen as a result of the accident. First my Model 3 left the roadway after I became unconscious and struck a telephone pole. I do not know how fast I was traveling at the time of the collision with the pole but I do know the car was crumpled half way to the firewall.

None of the airbags deployed, not one. How can a front end collision of this magnitude not result in any airbags deploying. The car also never alerted Tesla that an accident had occurred?? I confirmed this by speaking to the Tesla Service Center and they reviewed the data pulled from the car. They said all they were getting is that some “secondary systems” were reported malfunctions.

BIGROCCREK:
This should be reported to the NTSB. They may investigate and say everything is normal, or they may have similar reports from others that establish a pattern.

 

[Dana1]

I was in an accident on Tuesday 18 December at approximately 12:30 pm while driving my Model 3. I experienced a medical emergency which caused me to completely black out while driving. I am seriously concerned about what did and did not happen as a result of the accident. First my Model 3 left the roadway after I became unconscious and struck a telephone pole. I do not know how fast I was traveling at the time of the collision with the pole but I do know the car was crumpled half way to the firewall.

None of the airbags deployed, not one. How can a front end collision of this magnitude not result in any airbags deploying. The car also never alerted Tesla that an accident had occurred?? I confirmed this by speaking to the Tesla Service Center and they reviewed the data pulled from the car. They said all they were getting is that some “secondary systems” were reported malfunctions.

Now I need to determine if the car is repairable or not and then decide if I even want the car. I purchased the Tesla for several reasons, one of the biggest being it’s safety rating but I have serious concerns about the “real” safety.

I am really uncomfortable driving the Tesla in the future with my family inside if the safety systems do not function.

I would like to escalate this accident to someone who can provide answers. Both people I spoke to at the Service Center after seeing the pictures said that absolutely the airbags should have deployed and absolutely an accident message should have been transmitted to Tesla.

I would also think that Tesla would be very interested in finding out why they car did not function properly.

The passenger compartment looks unscathed. Glad you’re ok. Hope you figure out what happened to you and that it’s manageable.

AFAIK the cars aren’t coded to send accidents to Tesla. Onstar is a voluntary (and expensive) service from Chevrolet. Maybe Tesla will incorporate it eventually but I won’t be a subscriber. It sounds like the car sent the messages that stuff is screwed up but there’d have to be a dedicated service team for emergency services, hence the cost of Onstar.

 

[bettegruben]

Talk to your insurance agent. Be persistent and tell him/her why you need an answer. Before year end. Also, talk to Tesla and make sure you can have your sales contract closed before year end. They have LOTS of incentive to work with you. Also, get a ref# from someone so you can get free supercharging (I think the offer is up to 9 months now) I agree with most of the other posters who said the fact that you were essentially uninjured is a testimony to the car's safety. Anyone else would have been severely injured with such a crash--even killed.

 

[JeffK]

report this to the NHTSA?

This should be reported to the NTSB.

Reporting might be a waste of everyone's time...

If you've seen cars crumple before then you'd recognize this as a low speed crash. If you've never seen anything like that then any mangled car is going to look like a horrible violent collision, but this is not the case. If the OP had passed out and their head happened to be near any of the airbags either in the side curtain or if he'd slouched over the steering wheel then if the airbags went off he might not be alive at all. Consider that for a moment.

When you're in the right place and conditions are right airbags can be awesome, if not then airbags are dangerous explosives near your body. Heck, google "degloving" if you have a strong stomach.

 

[Paul S]

I was in an accident on Tuesday 18 December at approximately 12:30 pm while driving my Model 3. I experienced a medical emergency which caused me to completely black out while driving. I am seriously concerned about what did and did not happen as a result of the accident. First my Model 3 left the roadway after I became unconscious and struck a telephone pole. I do not know how fast I was traveling at the time of the collision with the pole but I do know the car was crumpled half way to the firewall.

None of the airbags deployed, not one. How can a front end collision of this magnitude not result in any airbags deploying. The car also never alerted Tesla that an accident had occurred?? I confirmed this by speaking to the Tesla Service Center and they reviewed the data pulled from the car. They said all they were getting is that some “secondary systems” were reported malfunctions.

Now I need to determine if the car is repairable or not and then decide if I even want the car. I purchased the Tesla for several reasons, one of the biggest being it’s safety rating but I have serious concerns about the “real” safety.

I am really uncomfortable driving the Tesla in the future with my family inside if the safety systems do not function.

I would like to escalate this accident to someone who can provide answers. Both people I spoke to at the Service Center after seeing the pictures said that absolutely the airbags should have deployed and absolutely an accident message should have been transmitted to Tesla.

I would also think that Tesla would be very interested in finding out why they car did not function properly.

Quite aside from the airbag question and with all due respect, your medical issue makes it apparent that you should not be driving this or any vehicle. The cause of the incident was not the Tesla -
Best regards.

 

[JeffK]

If you had a medical emergency you should immediately pull over, put your blinkers on and call 911.

He might not have known. Typically if there's pain large enough you'll get a cold sweat, blurring vision, then a temporary drop in blood pressure all in a few seconds in which you pass out.

your medical issue makes it apparent that you should not be driving this or any vehicle.

People don't always know about every medical emergency they are going to have when they get in a vehicle...

 

[wcorey]

He might not have known. Typically if there's pain large enough you'll get a cold sweat, blurring vision, then a temporary drop in blood pressure all in a few seconds in which you pass out.



People don't always know about every medical emergency they are going to have when they get in a vehicle...

I just googled warning signs of appendicitis

"Chronic appendicitis can have milder symptoms that last for a long time, and that disappear and reappear. It can go undiagnosed for several weeks, months, or years. Acute appendicitis has more severe symptoms that appear suddenly within 24 to 48 hours.Jun 28, 2017"


A ruptured appendix is considered acute appendicitis. That, btw, was from WebMD

My guess is within a year, perhaps two, you can get into your tesla and say drive to Hospital and it will. Or, just call 911, your tesla is not designed to be an ambulance.

 

[Cactus]

Two years ago my 16 yo son pulled out of a parking lot and hit an oncoming jeep cherokee in my wife's 2012 Infiniti G37. The damage was similar to the OP pix. Airbags did not deploy. Car was totaled.

 

[Asicfoo]

First, airbags only deploy between certain speeds. If you are traveling too fast they can’t deploy before your face would enter the explosion zone, and likely kill you.

Second, airbags require 2+ crumple sensors to deploy. Hitting a pole is usually not an event that will deploy the airbags unless it’s at an angle where the damage hits 2+ sensors.

There is no difference between what you described and what would happen in a Chevy or BMW. The real issue is that you controlled your car to drive into a pole, conscious or not (the car can not determine if you are conscious), it only knew you pressed the peddles, steering wheel and were present in your seat, until the car hit a pole.

Other than not calling Tesla, what did it do that it should have? You were probably going to fast or slow for airbag deployment, and like I said they don’t usually deploy when hitting a pole. Also, depending on how they determine an accident, they probably use the same sensors that deploy the Airbag. Again, this is the same as on any brand of car. So, I see nothing wrong, especially nothing safety related.

What you SHOULD have done was enabled autopilot. Then, I can be pretty sure this wouldn’t have happened.

 

[JeffK]

I just googled warning signs of appendicitis

"Chronic appendicitis can have milder symptoms that last for a long time, and that disappear and reappear. It can go undiagnosed for several weeks, months, or years. Acute appendicitis has more severe symptoms that appear suddenly within 24 to 48 hours.Jun 28, 2017"


A ruptured appendix is considered acute appendicitis. That, btw, was from WebMD

My guess is within a year, perhaps two, you can get into your tesla and say drive to Hospital and it will. Or, just call 911, your tesla is not designed to be an ambulance.

Exactly, and anyone who's fainted knows there's very little warning and once you've fainted it's too late.

We've seen several cases now where people have passed out or had other medical emergencies in a Tesla. I wonder if the Model 3 inward facing camera can detect such physical signs and put a confirmation box on the screen to confirm you're ok. If there's not a response in a certain amount of time it could call for you...

It wouldn't be impossibly difficult to implement.

 

[Asicfoo]

Thanks for the kind words and advice. I love my Model 3. Unfortunately with the holidays and the fact that I was in the hospital until last night I doubt I be able to get a clarification on repair of total from the insurance company in time to get the full $7500 credit but hey I still get teh credit for buying this car......don't I? Even if the insurance company totals it?

You will get the credit for the car you bought. Regardless if you get a new one now or not, the insurance company will keep the rebate on the new car.

 

[PaddyD]

bigroccrek, looks like your Tesla did it's job - admirably. Glad you're ok!

Re: this idiot who re-posted your article, having looked at the site, which is only 186 days old, it's clear that it's an attempt to monetize bashing Tesla from the other articles posted. (She is hoping that people who do Google searches for Tesla will end up on her site and that then she'll be able to sell advertising based on the traffic she receives. She is a complete dolt, of course.)

 

[TT97]

Regardless if you get a new one now or not, the insurance company will keep the rebate on the new car.

Huh?