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Tesla model 3 accident with a Mack truck
- Thread starter Iceman8
- Start date
It would be very bad if the brakes failed, and I would want to know why.
Interesting you mention that! You are the first I've seen do that. I, too, was/am uncomfortable with the rear window view. However, I temper that uneasiness with the fact that since 2005, if not early, I've enjoyed hatchback visibility and it's tough to beat the view through a hatchback. Add to that one can always turn on the backup camera for a continuous view of what's behind you. It's weird that the view through that read window makes things seem like they are on your tail where the rear camera makes them seem 800 ft behind you.
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Lasairfion
Member
A lot of European cars have really poor rear visibility. In fact I think someone once told me at the driving club that the DVLA won't let you take your test in the new style Mini due to having too poor a view through the rear window. Having the rear camera on might be very useful. I know some car interior mirrors show the rear camera view as an overlay. That'd be handy.
From a UK perspective here are our highway code rules for dealing with emergency vehicles
As an aside, they may need to rewrite rule 224 now:
Going back to the original poster's intent, the Model 3 has held up remarkably well from such a large impact and it's great to hear that the safety aspects of the Model 3 are as good as advertised.
About 30 years ago we had a car hit our trailer during an overtaking manoeuvre on the motorway which flipped our car. There were three of us in the back all of whom were thrown from the vehicle. My mum broke her back and has had life-long issues with it since. I was thrown under the trailer and broke my left femur, my sister broke her arm. I have no idea how we survived but I ended up in traction for about 3 months.
Most of the incident is still blacked out in my memory. I actually found an old photograph of the post-accident car the other day and experienced near enough a panic attack so I guess it's still buried in my head somewhere. One part of the memory I do recall though is being put in the ambulance and being asked if we wanted the sirens on. I remember saying yes. One of the reasons that they sometimes don't put sirens on is because it can exacerbate an already massively traumatic experience for the patient.
So while I'm sorry that your car is a mess, it's good to know that your wife walked away from it more or less uninjured.
From a UK perspective here are our highway code rules for dealing with emergency vehicles
Rule 219
Emergency and Incident Support vehicles.
You should look and listen for ambulances, fire engines, police, doctors or other emergency vehicles using flashing blue, red or green lights and sirens or flashing headlights, or traffic officer and incident support vehicles using flashing amber lights. When one approaches do not panic. Consider the route of such a vehicle and take appropriate action to let it pass, while complying with all traffic signs. If necessary, pull to the side of the road and stop, but try to avoid stopping before the brow of a hill, a bend or narrow section of road. Do not endanger yourself, other road users or pedestrians and avoid mounting the kerb. Do not brake harshly on approach to a junction or roundabout, as a following vehicle may not have the same view as you.
Emergency and Incident Support vehicles.
You should look and listen for ambulances, fire engines, police, doctors or other emergency vehicles using flashing blue, red or green lights and sirens or flashing headlights, or traffic officer and incident support vehicles using flashing amber lights. When one approaches do not panic. Consider the route of such a vehicle and take appropriate action to let it pass, while complying with all traffic signs. If necessary, pull to the side of the road and stop, but try to avoid stopping before the brow of a hill, a bend or narrow section of road. Do not endanger yourself, other road users or pedestrians and avoid mounting the kerb. Do not brake harshly on approach to a junction or roundabout, as a following vehicle may not have the same view as you.
As an aside, they may need to rewrite rule 224 now:
Rule 224
Electric vehicles.
Be careful of electric vehicles such as milk floats and trams. Trams move quickly but silently and cannot steer to avoid you.
------------------Electric vehicles.
Be careful of electric vehicles such as milk floats and trams. Trams move quickly but silently and cannot steer to avoid you.
Going back to the original poster's intent, the Model 3 has held up remarkably well from such a large impact and it's great to hear that the safety aspects of the Model 3 are as good as advertised.
About 30 years ago we had a car hit our trailer during an overtaking manoeuvre on the motorway which flipped our car. There were three of us in the back all of whom were thrown from the vehicle. My mum broke her back and has had life-long issues with it since. I was thrown under the trailer and broke my left femur, my sister broke her arm. I have no idea how we survived but I ended up in traction for about 3 months.
Most of the incident is still blacked out in my memory. I actually found an old photograph of the post-accident car the other day and experienced near enough a panic attack so I guess it's still buried in my head somewhere. One part of the memory I do recall though is being put in the ambulance and being asked if we wanted the sirens on. I remember saying yes. One of the reasons that they sometimes don't put sirens on is because it can exacerbate an already massively traumatic experience for the patient.
So while I'm sorry that your car is a mess, it's good to know that your wife walked away from it more or less uninjured.
I don't believe that she had her foot on the brakes after getting hit. She told me that she was trying to steer to the side as much as she could... So I believe after getting hit, the brakes disengaged and the car just rolled to a stop...
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With the advent of larger and taller SUVs/crossovers and more people with pickup trucks, you might have noticed that car bumpers have moved higher up on the cars to match those other vehicles and make things safer. Remember seeing an article on that. Anyway crossovers especially all seem to have raised and narrowed rear windows. Accomodates the higher bumpers and gives the hatchback rear body more stability. If you pay attention to the rear windows on other newer cars I think you will see this trend taking off.
Oh wow, that sounds like a terrible accident, thanks for sharing... Really goes to show how much worse it could have been...
Joe G
Member
Glad your wife was okay, that's great that you had the USB in and got that footage, Im sure it helped the police.
dj_gon
Member
Sorry to hear that. Clearly the truck driver wasn't paying attention as he/she didn't even attempt to stop.
You will naturally adapt. I, and many others, drive trucks and vans without rear view mirrors every day. Every box truck on the road for instance. Keep in mind that it is the responsibility of the person behind you to maintain a safe following distance. Rear view mirrors are a convenience when reversing but completely unnecessary when going forward. That is not to say that they aren't helpful in tracking traffic behind you but it is easy to drive safely and have all necessary information without one.
Glad she is OK!
Watching the video you can see the shadows pass over the lane lines allowing you to calculate the following distance in seconds. I am no driving rules expert but 3 seconds was what I always heard. My quick check of the video tells me the truck was about 1.5 seconds back. That seems like a negligence claim by itself.
If you are considering using the footage in court get chain of evidence in place now.
Watching the video you can see the shadows pass over the lane lines allowing you to calculate the following distance in seconds. I am no driving rules expert but 3 seconds was what I always heard. My quick check of the video tells me the truck was about 1.5 seconds back. That seems like a negligence claim by itself.
If you are considering using the footage in court get chain of evidence in place now.
HAWX 12
Member
Question.
I remember in the settings something about 'the car braking or accelerating to reduce to impact if accidentally hitting accelerator....' something like that.
Was this enabled on your wife's car? Because it looks like impact was possibly reduced by her car continuing to roll forward, when I would think she would be on the brakes hard.
I might be interpreting the "setting" wrong though.
Also, truck was just too close. Following distance for speed, weight and reaction time gotta be more than 2 car lengths he was giving. (Fire Essentials, vol 4)
Thank you for yielding to First Responders!
EMS continued to their alarm, but did the cop at least come and check on her?
I remember in the settings something about 'the car braking or accelerating to reduce to impact if accidentally hitting accelerator....' something like that.
Was this enabled on your wife's car? Because it looks like impact was possibly reduced by her car continuing to roll forward, when I would think she would be on the brakes hard.
I might be interpreting the "setting" wrong though.
Also, truck was just too close. Following distance for speed, weight and reaction time gotta be more than 2 car lengths he was giving. (Fire Essentials, vol 4)
Thank you for yielding to First Responders!
EMS continued to their alarm, but did the cop at least come and check on her?
hacer
Active Member
Toronto's traffic time bomb: Is it too late to fix? - Macleans.ca
LOL. It's a good thing all those drivers ignore that advice. Imagine how bad the commute would be if this 8 lane highway were to be utilized as if it were a 2 lane road like the handbook says. The whole point of multi-lane roads is to increase the traffic carrying ability; failure to utilize the available lanes creates traffic congestion. This is why in the OP's video every single car travelling in the other direction (except those making turns) was in their left lane - to avoid the congestion caused by having to stop for the right turning vehicles.
Yep, glad your wife's okay. Just be aware, she might have some delayed symptoms, so be sure to keep asking/checking.
The truck driver was obviously not paying attention, since he never braked. You don't ever see the front of the truck dive in an emergency brake maneuver. He should have seen the flashing lights of the ambulance, first, given his seat height advantage. Utterly reckless. The trailing vehicle always has to leave enough room to make an emergency stop, it doesn't matter that the car ahead stopped in the crosswalk. Heck, the ambulance stopped in the crosswalk as well. And a good driver with a heavy vehicle should actually be coasting, prepared to brake when approaching an intersection, as they know they need extra braking room.
Having said all that, it always pays to check your rear view mirror from time-to-time, to see if there's something that needs your attention. If I saw a dumbstruck (yeah, spellcheck changed dump truck) in my rear view mirror, coming closer than I was comfortable with, I'd change lanes, and let him go on his business.
And, in regards to bad rearward views, I had a Gen2 Chevy Volt. That car had terrible rearward views, and it's a hatchback. Probably my biggest complaint with that car, and I liked it alot, otherwise. The high backend made every vehicle behind you appear to be tailgating you, since you couldn't see their headlights, but they weren't. It was just the high backend.
The truck driver was obviously not paying attention, since he never braked. You don't ever see the front of the truck dive in an emergency brake maneuver. He should have seen the flashing lights of the ambulance, first, given his seat height advantage. Utterly reckless. The trailing vehicle always has to leave enough room to make an emergency stop, it doesn't matter that the car ahead stopped in the crosswalk. Heck, the ambulance stopped in the crosswalk as well. And a good driver with a heavy vehicle should actually be coasting, prepared to brake when approaching an intersection, as they know they need extra braking room.
Having said all that, it always pays to check your rear view mirror from time-to-time, to see if there's something that needs your attention. If I saw a dumbstruck (yeah, spellcheck changed dump truck) in my rear view mirror, coming closer than I was comfortable with, I'd change lanes, and let him go on his business.
And, in regards to bad rearward views, I had a Gen2 Chevy Volt. That car had terrible rearward views, and it's a hatchback. Probably my biggest complaint with that car, and I liked it alot, otherwise. The high backend made every vehicle behind you appear to be tailgating you, since you couldn't see their headlights, but they weren't. It was just the high backend.
I believe baby car seats in an accident are considered a loss by insurance and not to be used again.
5_+JqckQttqck
Active Member
If people followed the system, it'd be way more efficient as there are actual right turning lanes carved out in most major intersections. Sure, in this instance there wasn't, but that right lane was clear. Now allowing a truck to tail gate you and let them pass (in the passing lane) instead of driving there would of avoided the whole thing (imho).
Simply not driving in the far left lane makes traffic flow faster. Let the speeders speed at their hearts content and let the cops deal with them.
Most people speed: 40 in a 30, 50 in a 40, 80 in a 60, 100(120) in a 80, and 120(140+) in a 100 zone. The cops cannot keep up. Until tech in cars actually limit the max speed, there will always be speeders. Keep yourself safe by driving in the legal lane where you can be slow. Let people pass on the left.
For the record that truck was not tail gating. In fact, if it was tailgating I bet the OP’s wife probably would have been aware it was there and pulled over or not stopped.
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