Model S saves another life

[eloder]

Wow, this accident was within miles of my house. I heard about it but had no idea one person was a Tesla (I was amazed when I heard one driver walked away, didn't connect that it may have been a Tesla). Go Tesla!

That intersection is an unusual design but it'd be extremely hard to go the wrong way. One way streets essentially lead onto each on-ramp and exit ramp.

 

[cgiGuy]

Tragic.
Besides all the inherent safety built in to the Model S structure, you're talking about one car's mass of 5400lbs vs the Cobalt at barely over 2,000. Things don't stop equally with direct impacts like this.

From the Tesla website:

• Curb weight 4,647.3 lbs

 

[SomeJoe7777]

From the Tesla website:

• Curb weight 4,647.3 lbs

Different models have different curb weights. Page 165 of the 7.1 manual shows:

Curb Weight - 60 - 4,407 lbs / 1,999 kg
Curb Weight - 70 - 4,555 lbs / 2,066 kg
Curb Weight - 70D - 4,720 lbs / 2,141 kg
Curb Weight - 85/P85 - 4,630 lbs / 2,100 kg
Curb Weight - 85D - 4,848 lbs / 2,199 kg
Curb Weight - P85D - 4,963 lbs / 2,251 kg
Curb Weight - 90D - 4,848 lbs / 2,199 kg
Curb Weight - P90D - 4,963 lbs / 2,251 kg

Curb weight is with correct fluid levels and no passengers or cargo. With a single passenger and a few cargo items, that can add 200-300 pounds.

 

[cgiGuy]

Different models have different curb weights. Page 165 of the 7.1 manual shows:

Looks like they took an average for the website "specs" then.

Curb weight is with correct fluid levels and no passengers or cargo. With a single passenger and a few cargo items, that can add 200-300 pounds.

Same with the other vehicle.

 

[wcfinvader]

Any good pictures of the Tesla?

 

[supratachophobia]

Any good pictures of the Tesla?

I'll see where it ends up and go visit it if possible. If it's declared a loss, it could end up at the pound.

 

[brucet999]

I'll see where it ends up and go visit it if possible. If it's declared a loss, it could end up at the pound.

" If it's declared a loss" … seriously? Teslas have been totaled in relatively modest tangential collisions; this was a head-on on the interstate.

 

[supratachophobia]

" If it's declared a loss" … seriously? Teslas have been totaled in relatively modest tangential collisions; this was a head-on on the interstate.

Be patient.... We don't know yet.

 

[TaoJones]

Just thought I'd include a link to the type of freeway interchange at work.

Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

I'm told it's a "diamond interchange". Right before you go over the bridge, you change directions and move to the other side of the road. Then when you get to the other side, it reverses back. Having driven that exact road, it is *possible* for a driver to not obey the two dozen signs and end up making a hard turn to get on the freeway in the wrong direction.

Thanks for posting the image. I've encountered some bassackwards on and off ramps, and interchanges in general with bizarre bends and twists and elevation and angles and such, but I don't recall one of *those*.

What in the **** is that? And more importantly, WHY?

Signage in general in the midwest and east was often curious - there were multiple cases especially during protracted construction detours when I just flipped a coin at various intersections. Particularly entertaining when Nav says you'll get to the next SC with 22% and you're down to 4% and counting.

With regard to the OP, I do wish Tesla would encourage the media to cover the safety aspects of the car as much as anything else. Any perspective from life saving to injury saving to dollar saving is welcome - can't really oversaturate this stuff, given the stakes. Tens of thousands of lives per year can and will be saved with this technology as it develops.

Just this week, Ford got press for their Fusion having "Stop and Go" technology and how it's "a little bit of a co-pilot for you" and will make the commute less stressful. At the end of the commercial, er, news item, it is noted that it will only start with the 2017 Fusions, so not here yet. Meanwhile, it's just TACC, which has been around for what, 7 years in premium cars and 1+ years in a Model S? Oy, vey.

 

[SomeJoe7777]

What in the **** is that? And more importantly, WHY?

It's a type of diamond interchange.

Most interchanges for 2 freeways follow one of two patterns: either the cloverleaf interchange or the stack interchange.

Cloverleaf interchanges are simple to construct, requiring only one bridge. But they use a lot of land area and can't move traffic very fast due to the reduced speeds required on the 270-degree turns, and the fact that oncoming traffic has to merge in the same lane as exiting traffic, resulting in weaving.

Stack interchanges are more compact, requiring less land, move traffic the fastest of all interchanges, and avoid weaving. However, they're expensive to build, requiring 4-levels of bridges, and their height can become an eyesore.

The diamond variant shown above is in between. It moves traffic faster than a cloverleaf (no 270-degree turns), and is cheaper than a stack, requiring only 3 bridges. But it uses almost as much land as a cloverleaf and still has weaving.

 

[TaoJones]

Thanks for the great explanation and the links.

Trying to remember the last time I've driven on one of these diamond interchanges.

 

[Archduke]

Everyone is speculating that the superior construction and/or greater weight of the Tesla is responsible for the fact that the Tesla driver walked away from the accident while the poor young lady driving the Cobalt lost her life. But there is another factor no one seems to have considered: seatbelts. If the driver of the Cobalt wasn't wearing her seatbelt (and the news article did not indicate one way or the other), then that would be the most likely reason for her death.

 

[Vexar]

But there is another factor no one seems to have considered: seatbelts. If the driver of the Cobalt wasn't wearing her seatbelt (and the news article did not indicate one way or the other), then that would be the most likely reason for her death.

Based on the footage of what I assume was the Cobalt, I think the damage was well past the stage of a seatbelt having any life-saving impact. If you're involved in a head-on collision, and your car is torn to pieces, all the passenger safety equipment in the world cannot arrest the damage of an engine block and transmission pushing its way into the passenger compartment. This isn't the first time that a Tesla has torn through a cheap compact car like a soda can.