Rear ended for second time in 4 months, need some advice

[whitex]

In California, if you leave your ball and hitch in the receiver, you can be held liable for part of the damage to the person who rear ended you!

Is it just a hitch, or would it apply to any apparatus designed to lessen damage to your car at the cost of the guy behind you? I could envision a special device that when hit, digs into the road on an angle dissipating a bunch of the impact energy into the road.

 

[Tevvy]

Sorry for the stupid question, but would the autopilot not move you out of the way if it saw something was going to hit from behind (assuming you had space in front of you)?

 

[kort677]

Sorry for the stupid question, but would the autopilot not move you out of the way if it saw something was going to hit from behind (assuming you had space in front of you)?

no

 

[kort677]

We have a lot of uninsured illegal immigrants driving around here. Yes, why do authorities let this go on, along with trying to remove the requirement to produce ID to vote. To stay in power, and abuse power. That's why.

you also have a lot of home grown people who drive illegally. the way the nation has grown, people spread out across vast urban sprawl leaves people with little means forced to drive without insurance, they just can't afford it and there are no alternatives for them to move around. I don't have an answer but like all of these social/economic issues there is no simple solution.

 

[FlatSix911]

Interesting theories ... any source for item 3?

I'm curious... as I know there are numerous discussions on regenerative braking and brake lights... but I am curious if anyone has any weird theories that Teslas may be less seen by distracted drivers because of various factors such as:
1) color of Tesla and time of day,
2) lower Cd (not specifically wind resistance but the fact that there is less frontal and rear surface area to reflect) ,
3) use of range mode dimming running lights ,
4) the driver keeping the accelerator pedal engaged enough to only use very small amounts of regenerative braking to keep rolling slowly but inadvertently keeping the brake lights off,
5) the game Angry birds.... I mean, has anyone done a study on the number of rear end collisions and the release of Angry Birds?

 

[ibdb]

I'm curious... as I know there are numerous discussions on regenerative braking and brake lights... but I am curious if anyone has any weird theories that Teslas may be less seen by distracted drivers...

I was rear ended at a red light, a light that was triggered by a crossing ambulance with lights and sirens on. Pretty sure that if I hadn't been there, the guy who hit me would have hit someone else instead. That I was in a Tesla had nothing to do with it.

 

[Sir Guacamolaf]

you also have a lot of home grown people who drive illegally. the way the nation has grown, people spread out across vast urban sprawl leaves people with little means forced to drive without insurance, they just can't afford it and there are no alternatives for them to move around. I don't have an answer but like all of these social/economic issues there is no simple solution.

They can afford a car, but they cannot afford insurance? Alright, I'm going to not turn this into a political conversation.
Let's just agree that whatever it is, is less than ideal.

 

[MP3Mike]

They can afford a car, but they cannot afford insurance?

Cars are, or can be, cheap; insurance is expensive. You can easily get a car for $500 that will last for years. Insurance is likely to cost them way more than that per year.

 

[Sir Guacamolaf]

Cars are, or can be, cheap; insurance is expensive. You can easily get a car for $500 that will last for years. Insurance is likely to cost them way more than that per year.

Gas is expensive too. why don't they steal gas too? Why stop at insurance?

 

[kort677]

Gas is expensive too. why don't they steal gas too? Why stop at insurance?

how do you know that "they" aren't stealing gas? you are getting the level of society that society allows.

 

[JSkrehot]

Yesterday my wife and kids got rear ended in our MS by an uninsured driver, as usual. The speed was pretty low and no one got hurt. Between the time it usually takes at Tesla certified bodyshop and the increased insurance rate from taking it on our own insurance again, I am considering just buying a new bumper, put it on myself and be done with it. Parking sensors seem to have survived. Those of you who have experience with removing damaged Model S bumpers, how common is it that more components are damaged?


PS. It is infuriating that in rush hour traffic I see 70% of drivers texting, not looking where they are going. In the two years I've lived in FL I have witnessed 4 rear endings in traffic right next to me and had my own cars rear ended twice with our kids inside. A friend of mine gave up and replaced his car with a raised pickup after being rear ended 3 times in 6 months on i4, he figured at least people will run into his tow bar instead of sending his car to the bodyshop for a month at a time every two months . Btw 24% of are uninsured here in FL Uninsured drivers by state | CarInsurance.com
and those uninsured cause a higher proportion of accidents, so often you are on your own if rear ended. Isn't it shocking that the authorities let this go on? Would be easy for a government to cross reference databases and figure out who they are. Sorry I had to fume here for a while DS.

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Hopefully you called the police so that they can get cited for not having insurance. I think it is like a $3,000 fine in California.

 

[K-MTG]

When I first started driving my insurance cost more than my car lease. Lease was $400... insurance was $420

 

[MP3Mike]

Gas is expensive too. why don't they steal gas too? Why stop at insurance?

What makes you think they don't? Since it is hard to siphon gas out of the tanks people have gone to just jamming a screwdriver through the bottom of the new "plastic" tanks to get the $30 of gas out of them. (Requiring a $300 replacement gas tank.)

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Just need to get this sharpened and it will do the trick.
They just need to rename this the Mad Max radiator ram and they will sell thousands. I need one for the front too.

 

[Sir Guacamolaf]

What makes you think they don't? Since it is hard to siphon gas out of the tanks people have gone to just jamming a screwdriver through the bottom of the new "plastic" tanks to get the $30 of gas out of them. (Requiring a $300 replacement gas tank.)

That's just sad. I once had a car window broken so someone could steal a gps unit. 50 dollar gps unit. 500 dollar window. Fun.

Phew! I like my dog a lot.

 

[calisnow]

Yesterday my wife and kids got rear ended in our MS by an uninsured driver, as usual. The speed was pretty low and no one got hurt. Between the time it usually takes at Tesla certified bodyshop and the increased insurance rate from taking it on our own insurance again, I am considering just buying a new bumper, put it on myself and be done with it. Parking sensors seem to have survived. Those of you who have experience with removing damaged Model S bumpers, how common is it that more components are damaged?


PS. It is infuriating that in rush hour traffic I see 70% of drivers texting, not looking where they are going. In the two years I've lived in FL I have witnessed 4 rear endings in traffic right next to me and had my own cars rear ended twice with our kids inside. A friend of mine gave up and replaced his car with a raised pickup after being rear ended 3 times in 6 months on i4, he figured at least people will run into his tow bar instead of sending his car to the bodyshop for a month at a time every two months . Btw 24% of are uninsured here in FL Uninsured drivers by state | CarInsurance.com
and those uninsured cause a higher proportion of accidents, so often you are on your own if rear ended. Isn't it shocking that the authorities let this go on? Would be easy for a government to cross reference databases and figure out who they are. Sorry I had to fume here for a while DS.

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Really sucks but quick question - accident not your fault so are you sure your insurance can go up if you make the claim? Thought that was illegal.

 

[buttershrimp]

Anyone else have any thoughts on my various "blame the Tesla victim theories?" With cars like ours... aren't we just asking for it?

I do think the use of range mode causing the running LED lights to dim plays a role in how visible the car is.... it potentially makes for a less slightly visible car... I mean, yes, all these theories are ridiculous, but maybe there is a little truth to it.

I remember 20 years ago I was in Vancouver and I realized almost every car always drove with their lights on, even on the brightest days... I figure it had something to do with low light situations and reflectivity ... will some Canada person chime in on this? Those Canucks are so polite, they probably would put their lights on just to avoid hitting someone eh? Sooorrry you hit me eh... I should have had my running lights off range mode eh?

And yeah, I know reflective tape wouldn't help much, but I thought while hypermiling, or traveling slower, it would make sense, and I remember some statistics on car color and visibility.... Anyway, you don't want to drive with lights on any longer than you have to when hypermiling, and you want to stay visible in low light so I thought the tape isn't the worst idea. I thought about adding a little strip of red tape on the bottom side of my spoiler... yeah, it's going to look messed up, but this is what I spend my time thinking about so back the hell off!

Also, I like how this thread sparked a debate on immigration policy! That's ridiculous, everyone knows the real reason is that The Affordable Care Act doesn't adequately cover illegal immigrant optometry visits. My Tesla is in the shop again... Thanks Obama!

I'm kidding by the way, since sarcasm is hard to sense on a forum.

 

[dhrivnak]

You are right but maybe we all can together, by petitions demanding skill and mental tests for driver's license and anyone getting caught without license or texting or drunk driving go to jail for a year, like in Norway. Driving in Norway...after drinking? - Norway Forum - TripAdvisor

Not sure I agree with jail as everyone looses. But impounding the vehicle is a quick resolution.

 

[Olle]

Not sure I agree with jail as everyone looses. But impounding the vehicle is a quick resolution.

Why does everyone loose if you put criminals in jail?

 

[MP3Mike]

I remember 20 years ago I was in Vancouver and I realized almost every car always drove with their lights on, even on the brightest days... I figure it had something to do with low light situations and reflectivity ... will some Canada person chime in on this?

Canada has laws that you either have to have DRLs or your headlights on, so cars sold in Canada are different than cars in the US.

It is a safety thing and it annoys me that not every manufacturer does the right thing in the US. GM is one of them that does have DRLs on all of their vehicles.