Stolen Model S crashes after police pursuit. 7/4/14

[Owner]

The man in the suit? Have you ever seen him in a suit? I'm sure he would be more than curious and doesn't live all that far away.

252 on this video well look who is on the scene! Maybe I'm wrong lol. But he has the same shoes and same stance as elon

LAPD: Stolen Tesla Involved in Police Pursuit Crashes Into Cars, Splits in Half in WeHo; Multiple People Injured | KTLA 5

 

[GasDoc]

252 on this video well look who is on the scene!

You mean 2:42, right?

 

[Krugerrand]

Elon in a suit?

Wears a suit for many occasions.

 

[gaswalla]

Elon in a suit? I am guessing the guy is a detective.

Elon did the suit thing for uk deliveries
Tesla has played the 'open source' card to good effect - Telegraph

 

[Mr X]

252 on this video well look who is on the scene! Maybe I'm wrong lol. But he has the same shoes and same stance as elon

LAPD: Stolen Tesla Involved in Police Pursuit Crashes Into Cars, Splits in Half in WeHo; Multiple People Injured | KTLA 5

Ya thats definitely Elon. Can tell by his mannerisms and just how he looks.

 

[BlueTan85]

It is not. It's a detective. You can see him in other videos.

 

[scaesare]

Three Family Members Dead After Tesla Crash in Palmdale | NBC Southern California

This NBC piece demonstrates that all cars can be deadly from fire, in this case it was the Toyota that burst in to flames:

"One adult and two children were killed in a fiery car crash in Palmdale Friday night. A Toyota Corolla burst into flames when a Tesla collided into it. "

This is very sad indeed.

(it's unfortunate that the video segment on that page seems to mistakenly include a quick shot of the burning Tesla in the LA "split in half" inicident)

 

[AmpedRealtor]

What a surprise twist. Reporter sees that this supports Tesla's safety claim... IMO this does not say anything about Tesla's safety, not good or bad.

Are you kidding? A thief drives a Tesla over 100 MPH down a city street, launches into a light pole which then splits the car in half. Front half ends up on fire in the road, rear half is wedged between two walls on the side of a building. And the driver lived. How does that NOT support the view of Teslas being incredibly safe cars? You'd have to try really hard not to see it this way.

 

[IceAge]

Are you kidding? A thief drives a Tesla over 100 MPH down a city street, launches into a light pole which then splits the car in half. Front half ends up on fire in the road, rear half is wedged between two walls on the side of a building. And the driver lived. How does that NOT support the view of Teslas being incredibly safe cars? You'd have to try really hard not to see it this way.

Don't forget the guy wasn't wearing a seatbelt...

 

[Matias]

Yes. He flew through windshield. I don't think the car had a lot to do with the fact that he is alive. He happened to land luckily.

 

[SteveG3]

Yes. He flew through windshield. I don't think the car had a lot to do with the fact that he is alive. He happened to land luckily.

I can see something to what you are saying here about the one who went through the windshield, but there's reason to believe there was someone in the passenger seat as well.

 

[Matias]

Yes, if there was passenger, he can thank Tesla. Driver exited through windshield.

 

[dsm363]

With regard to seatbelt I remember some study saying that above a certain speed the probability of survival is higher without the belt because you get ejected from the car and may well land in a way that you are injured, but alive, yet if you were kept in the car the damage to the interior is likely to be so extensive that you'd die. So who knows, if they really crashed at 120mph or so, then being ejected might have been the thing that saved him.

And I agree that gradual slowdown of the car could easily be done safely. A kW limiter starting from 200kW going down to 10-20kW over 20s or so would so it as you'd be able to keep going and maneuver while not being able to accelerate hard. This would slow the car gradually down to manageable speeds and police could do their thing. But of course this should only happen in a police pursuit at request from the police to Tesla. Or well if I were Tesla I'd also do it when a car is stolen from my store/service center.

This is very bad advice. There may be some miracle scenario where the driver flys out the window and lands on some hay while the car bursts into flames but I'd bet 999 out of 1,000 times being ejected from a car is really bad.
Do you have a link to that study?

 

[dsm363]

Are you kidding? A thief drives a Tesla over 100 MPH down a city street, launches into a light pole which then splits the car in half. Front half ends up on fire in the road, rear half is wedged between two walls on the side of a building. And the driver lived. How does that NOT support the view of Teslas being incredibly safe cars? You'd have to try really hard not to see it this way.

Being ejected from a car says very little about a car's safety. We all know the Model S is very safe but this accident says nothing about the driver who flew out the window.

 

[spatterso911]

This is very bad advice. There may be some miracle scenario where the driver flys out the window and lands on some hay while the car bursts into flames but I'd bet 999 out of 1,000 times being ejected from a car is really bad.
Do you have a link to that study?

+1. The ejected one is far more likely to die or suffer devastating permanent injuries. I've rarely seen ejected people without serious injuries. The seat-belted people usually go home that night or the next night with minimal injuries.

Also, just supposing the quoted theory is correct...

does this mean you should have the presence of mind to unbuckle during an impending 120 mph crash, or just not buckle up at all, cause you plan on crashing at speeds well above 120 mph???

Perhaps just buckling up with the intention of maximizing your survival in the 60 mph crash is the best policy...

 

[Johan]

+1. The ejected one is far more likely to die or suffer devastating permanent injuries. I've rarely seen ejected people without serious injuries. The seat-belted people usually go home that night or the next night with minimal injuries.

Also, just supposing the quoted theory is correct...

does this mean you should have the presence of mind to unbuckle during an impending 120 mph crash, or just not buckle up at all, cause you plan on crashing at speeds well above 120 mph???

Perhaps just buckling up with the intention of maximizing your survival in the 60 mph crash is the best policy...

In case empirical evidence actually points to the survival curves of seat belt on vs. off past a certain speed, how hard would it be to design a mechanism that disengages the lock of the seat belt as you pass say 100 mph, and then re-engages as you go below again?

 

[WarpedOne]

Why is it so hard for some people to understand a few sentances together?
And they are allowed to drive the streets...

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Being ejected from a car says very little about a car's safety. We all know the Model S is very safe but this accident says nothing about the driver who flew out the window.

It does to me. It says the driver was alive when ejected. According to one of the reports, the driver was wedged between the wall of the synagogue and the rear end of the vehicle. That means he was ejected right as the car split in half. To say that this incident says nothing of the car's safety implies that the driver benefited by being ejected from the vehicle. I disagree.

 

[dsm363]

If you are counting on flying through the windshield to save your life please wear full leathers and a helmet too. The trauma docs, nurses and ER staff will thank you.

 

[sbronle1]

Stolen Tesla Crash

I am surprised that there have been no posts on the stolen Tesla crash that happened yesterday in California. Apparently crashed while being chased at 100 mph. Driver ejected but still alive. The Tesla was split in half and the batteries ignited according to news reports. Is this a favorable ending or unfavorable ending for Tesla? I see it as favorable. The car was torn in half and pictures can be seen on the Web. The rear end of the Tesla ended up wedged between two buildings. Can't fathom the amount of force that would require unless...100 mph breached by two power poles...would be enough. May be the first reported serious injury from a Tesla crash. I can't imagine how the driver even survived.