My first accident

[father_of_6]

NHTSA: I am speculating (without much evidence) that NHTSA is looking for reasons to take some major action against Tesla. The appearance that they have people searching web posts to find Tesla accidents would tend to bolster this speculation.

But they left this on his door... so how did they even know where he lives or who he is?

I suspect this is some weirdo who lives nearby and noticed a fresh injury to the car. "I'd like to drive that car", he thought... and since he used to work for a NHTSA subcontractor, he knows how to socially manipulate someone's car away from them.

Backing out of your driveway and hitting someone at a low speed has nothing to do with the NHTSA. Next he'll be trying to conduct a full body cavity search.

 

[drtimhill]

Also the NHTSA guy wants to do the safety inspection tomorrow. He said it would take several hours and I don't need to be there for the inspection. He said I could just leave a key card for him so he can get in the car. But I am thinking I should be there. Thoughts?

Hmm .. fake “NHTSA” guy trolling for lawsuits you mean.

 

[alstoralset]

But they left this on his door... so how did they even know where he lives or who he is?

I'm no expert, but I hear that those skilled in the art can locate people with an online presence in about 15 minutes.

That said, you're probably right about the guy just seeing the car. Will be interesting to hear how it turns out - assuming diplomat33 decides it's our business

 

[father_of_6]

He said it would take several hours and I don't need to be there for the inspection.

Several hours of illegal activity with your car and plates, LOL. I'd almost be tempted to hide cameras inside the car and let him take it just for kicks. Really I'd probably call the police on him though.

 

[diplomat33]

Will be interesting to hear how it turns out - assuming diplomat33 decides it's our business

I will keep you all in the loop about everything, the car repair itself and the weird NHTSA guy.

But they left this on his door... so how did they even know where he lives or who he is?

That information would likely be in the police report. If he is with NHTSA, he could have access to it.

I suspect this is some weirdo who lives nearby and noticed a fresh injury to the car. "I'd like to drive that car", he thought... and since he used to work for a NHTSA subcontractor, he knows how to socially manipulate someone's car away from them.

His facebook page says he lives on the other side of town from me, 15-20 miles away. Not exactly nearby. Also, you can't see the damage from the main road. You can only see the damage if you turn into my lane and drive past the car. So he would have to turn into my lane and decide to drive past my car for some reason to notice the damage. Considering he lives like 15-20 miles from me, it seems unlikely he would happen to be driving by and decide to turn into my lane.

Backing out of your driveway and hitting someone at a low speed has nothing to do with the NHTSA. Next he'll be trying to conduct a full body cavity search.

Yeah, that is a red flag to me. NHTSA deals with major crashes like on a highway, they don't deal with low speed collisions backing out of a driveway. Unless NHTSA is so anti-Tesla, they are now fishing for accidents backing out of one's own driveway to try to find some fatal flaw they can pin on Tesla. That is a possibility.

 

[father_of_6]

But what would "inspecting your car" for several hours do for him/them?

It's *so* bizarre.

 

[diplomat33]

But what would "inspecting your car" for several hours do for him/then?

It's *so* bizarre.

He claimed that it was a safety inspection, that NHTSA needs to check the safety of my car after the accident.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

He claimed that it was a safety inspection, that NHTSA needs to check the safety of my car after the accident.

Oh yes, all you have to do is leave your keys car and it'll totally be there when you get back.

Did he wear glasses and a beard?

 

[father_of_6]

Yeah, to make sure it can safely be involved in a bank robbery after an accident. And still safely reach 140mph.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

Do you believe rear cross traffic alert would have helped prevent the accident?

My Jeep has that, and its something I miss with my Tesla.

 

[diplomat33]

The NHTSA guy called me and said that he needed his Tesla EDR kit. EDR stands for Event Data Recorder, that is used to retrieve data from the car. We made an appointment for him to come Monday at 10am. I will be home to talk to the guy and see what he does.

 

[jjrandorin]

The NHTSA guy called me and said that he needed his Tesla EDR kit. EDR stands for Event Data Recorder, that is used to retrieve data from the car. We made an appointment for him to come Monday at 10am. I will be home to talk to the guy and see what he does.

What is it YOU are hoping to get from this interaction with "NHTSA guy who leaves hand written notes on peoples door vs using official communication"? I thought you said you were not going to continue to interact with that person. I guess you ment "I am not going to leave my car with him but I am going to let him spend a bunch of my time overseeing what he does, possibly disassembling my car".

In any case, good luck with whatever you hope to achieve out of this. I have nothing against the actual NHTSA, but actual "NHTSA" interaction would not be a hand written note on your door, unannounced, vs at a MINIMUM communication that concretely establishes this persons actual credibility.

Like I said earlier, I have a hard time believing that people would actually continue to contact someone that left a hand written note on their door. I dont find this much different than:

======================
"Hello Mr. Diplomat. I am a prince in (insert country). I would like to send you the sum of 50 million dollars and have you withdraw it, and pay me 30 million dollars, and keep 20 million dollars for your trouble. If you are willing to help me, please provide me with your full address, telephone number, bank routing number, wife, childrens and pets names, and the full address of where you work. I am looking forward to working with you."
======================

This feels like the above, to me, social media presence be darned. Catfishing experts can setup an entire fake person that looks real, only online.

 

[diplomat33]

What is it YOU are hoping to get from this interaction with "NHTSA guy who leaves hand written notes on peoples door vs using official communication"? I thought you said you were not going to continue to interact with that person. I guess you ment "I am not going to leave my car with him but I am going to let him spend a bunch of my time overseeing what he does, possibly disassembling my car".

In any case, good luck with whatever you hope to achieve out of this. I have nothing against the actual NHTSA, but actual "NHTSA" interaction would not be a hand written note on your door, unannounced, vs at a MINIMUM communication that concretely establishes this persons actual credibility.

Like I said earlier, I have a hard time believing that people would actually continue to contact someone that left a hand written note on their door. I dont find this much different than:

======================
"Hello Mr. Diplomat. I am a prince in (insert country). I would like to send you the sum of 50 million dollars and have you withdraw it, and pay me 30 million dollars, and keep 20 million dollars for your trouble. If you are willing to help me, please provide me with your full address, telephone number, bank routing number, wife, childrens and pets names, and the full address of where you work. I am looking forward to working with you."
======================

This feels like the above, to me, social media presence be darned. Catfishing experts can setup an entire fake person that looks real, only online.

I am not hoping to get anything out of it. But if the guy is legit from NHTSA, I can't really say no to NHTSA wanting some crash data from my accident. I did check with NHTSA and they said they would get back to me. Obviously, if NHTSA tells me that he is not legit then I won't talk to the guy.

 

[pipp]

This has been pretty similar to yelling at the TV during a horror movie (“No, NO! DON’T go into the basement!”). But it should turn out better than a horror movie…

 

[rrsrsr]

This is all so bizarre it could only be real- no one could come up with a story line like this. Even if this is not some sort of scam, And NHTSA have resorted to getting freelancing retired crash inspectors to go around taping hand scrawled letters on scrap paper to (apparently specifically) Tesla owners’ doors I would echo others that there is zero advantage, or zero reason even, for you to interact with this guy. NHTSA does review a random sample of crashes where a police report was filed and at least one vehicle had to be towed… this guys letter suggests there is nothing randomized about this.

Going to plug in to retrieve data from your car??? NFW would I consider entertaining this scenario from the information given. If it were me I would completely ignore the guy. If NHTSA were really involved they can send me an official letter advising that the crash has been randomly selected for their crash investigation program and outlining what that entails… at which point I would think about it (there is no compulsion to participate)

 

[diplomat33]

And NHTSA have resorted to getting freelancing retired crash inspectors to go around taping hand scrawled letters.

According to his social media, the guy is a retired prison guard. He is a current active NHTSA crash tech with KLD Inc.

 

[TunaBug]

The NHTSA guy called me and said that he needed his Tesla EDR kit. EDR stands for Event Data Recorder, that is used to retrieve data from the car. We made an appointment for him to come Monday at 10am. I will be home to talk to the guy and see what he does.

I hope that Monday at 9:59AM is not your last post ever.

I would contact KLD for two reasons: (a) to see if they vouch for the guy, and (b) because if they don't vouch for him then they are going to want to know that this guy is using the company name for his shenanigans.

 

[father_of_6]

According to his social media, the guy is a retired prison guard. He is a current active NHTSA crash tech with KLD Inc.

Oh no, I hope your car doesn't end up parked next to this one:

Abandoned Model S at Huebner Oaks San Antonio, TX Supercharger

Saw this at the San Antonio I-10 Supercharger and it just about made me cry... 😭😭😭 Almost the exact car I have on order except it isn't a Plaid. Story is that it was abandoned somewhere and they had a wreaker bring it over to charge but couldn't unplug since they didn't have a key. Tesla Power...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[diplomat33]

The guy is legit. I got an email confirmation from the VP of KLD Associates confirming that Rob Kanavy is an active employee of their company doing work for NHTSA. Here is the email I received:

Dear Mr. Hoffmann,

I verify that Rob Kanavy is an active KLD Associates employee and is authorized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to conduct automobile safety inspections on vehicles in your area.

I’ve included this link to the NHTSA web page that details the work he is doing.

https://www.nhtsa.gov/crash-data-systems/crash-investigation-sampling-system

Thanks so much for checking with me.


Steve Mavros

Executive VP
KLD Associates, Inc.
(210) 699-9065 ext. 225

 

[Randy-12]

I am not trolling. The letter is real and everything really happened. Like I said, I won't give some stranger my key card to have my car for a few hours, not knowing who the guy is. I am not THAT naive or dumb.

Run Forest Run!