[UPDATED] 2 die in Tesla crash - NHTSA reports driver seat occupied

[Cheburashka]

Its hard to say which car is safer under that scenerio. Safer car can only be determined by using similar circumstances. If a Volvo hit a tree doing 80 the outcome would probably be similar.

If less people die in Volvos than Teslas you can say that the statistics say it's a safer car. No different than Tesla making up bogus stats about the safety of Autopilot.

In this case, I doubt AP was on, and even if it was, it would have been limited to 30mph since it's not a highway.

 

[sperkin]

Even a Model S 75D can slip if you smash the peddle on a tight turn. I did it in a loaner and it understeers quite heavily. I'm sure the P is deadly and the driver lost control. He probably tried to climb into the back to get out. Probably all doors were warped and jammed at this speed.

I wonder if any media will correct this once the logs show it wasn't AP.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Not that much of a stretch. AP will disengage if the driver gets out of the drivers seat ....

Nothing a sack of potatoes can't fix.

 

[Needsdecaf]

But, what happens when you quickly buckle back the seat belt after one gets out of the driver’s seat? Would the car still continue to warn and stop? Or would it go back to driving?

Doesn't matter in this case. There isn't enough road for that to have happened.

 

[Needsdecaf]

If less people die in Volvos than Teslas you can say that the statistics say it's a safer car. No different than Tesla making up bogus stats about the safety of Autopilot.

In this case, I doubt AP was on, and even if it was, it would have been limited to 30mph since it's not a highway.

Would have been limited to 5 over the speed limit. So for this area, I think that would max at 40 (35+5). But likely more like 35 or 30.

 

[alexgr]

But, what happens when you quickly buckle back the seat belt after one gets out of the driver’s seat? Would the car still continue to warn and stop? Or would it go back to driving?

At least, not on the normal Autopilot. Yes, you can trick the car by buckling up the seat belt behind you in the first place, but then I think you still need to keep weight on the seat. These had to be done for the story to be true: after you put the car into drive, start driving, put it into TACC or Autopilot, set the maximum TACC speed, get into the back seat, and ALL these you must do along a 150 yard path.

 

[Silicon Desert]

(personal opinions only, not representative of TMC of anyone else but myself)

Its a sad situation, for sure. Because it has the word "Tesla" in it, no one will wait for facts, though. Just like people rush to post this stuff here, people will rush to "discuss" it everywhere, and make up their own facts before they know anything about what happened. There will be waaay more focus on "the tesla" vs "2 people lost their lives".

Exactly what I was thinking. Beat me to it. You'll note that we will have a hundred people on here and in the media that think they are part of the traffic safety board

 

[pitabun]

So when will Tesla inform the police of what the car logged?

 

[SO16]

So when will Tesla inform the police of what the car logged?

Considering the car is burned pretty severely, I question what could be pulled. Would also be interesting to know is how much data (if any) is transmitted in real time to Tesla.

 

[rxlawdude]

... No different than Tesla making up bogus stats about the safety of Autopilot.

Careful with false statements in public.

 

[TespaceX]

Doesn't matter in this case. There isn't enough road for that to have happened.

Dude, read my post. I never asked anything specific to this accident. I was asking about what Tesla’s behavior is with a specific action in general.

 

[EVNow]

Elon loves to point the finger at the 'average car', but several of those 'average cars' see zero driver deaths over a years time.

There, you failed stats 101.

 

[kavyboy]

I live not far from where this happened. The first report I saw was soon after the incident on a local-interest website, and has many of the same "facts" as the later reports from other outlets. That original source is lucky to get through a paragraph without spelling or grammar errors, misreported street names and times, wrong suspect names, and so on. It's OK for what it is and I appreciate the people who put it together, but at this point I wouldn't trust too many details of the story without confirmation.
PS: Not nextdoor.com

 

[EVNow]

Nothing a sack of potatoes can't fix.

There is zero chance of preventing suicidal maniacs ...

 

[CyberGus]

Like many have already said, I do feel that journalists have come to a conclusion much too quickly on this. It's the classic Tesla self-driving headline grabbing story, whereas in reality it is a very unfortunate and sad story.

What's been reported is purely circumstantial evidence.

In fairness to The Media, they are reporting the statements made by local officials. It would actually be more unprofessional to report such statements but then add "sounds like bullshit to me", or worse, ignore the story and publish nothing at all.

A publication with integrity would at least get a statement from the auto manufacturer, but Tesla doesn't do that, other than Elon's tweets.

 

[Barklikeadog]

There, you failed stats 101.

I'll pass your comment along to NHTSA.
Their data on accidents, deaths, cause, age, demographic, pedestrian, bicycle, model of car, etc etc must be faulty.

But maybe you know better than them. I'll keep an eye out for your posts so I have a more reliable source of US driving data.

 

[JHCCAZ]

At least, not on the normal Autopilot. Yes, you can trick the car by buckling up the seat belt behind you in the first place, but then I think you still need to keep weight on the seat. These had to be done for the story to be true: after you put the car into drive, start driving, put it into TACC or Autopilot, set the maximum TACC speed, get into the back seat, and ALL these you must do along a 150 yard path.

Seems to me I've read posts in which people mention the car trying to attain its stored highway cruise-control speed upon an inadvertent engagement in a parking lot. And that this is not gradual acceleration, but very strong. I wonder if this could be involved.

Overall I'm very skeptical of all the discussion around how the AP was tricked. It's all predicated on the stated "100%" confidence that no one occupied the driver seat at the moment of impact. Yet this could be simply wrong; most sensational first reports are wrong to some degree.

The most obvious scenario is two guys enjoying the awesome acceleration - in an unsuitable location - and losing control. One of the responders has partial knowledge of Tesla and makes a speculative comment at the grisly scene. His co-responders start nodding and the idea takes hold. This balloons into the news story we're all following now, and then it becomes too embarrassing to say "well hold on a minute, we're really not sure just what actually happened here." And none of the so-called journalists want to hear that anyway. So here we are.

 

[scottf200]

No weight on the drivers seat will stop the car.

It does not seem so. You just have to have the seat buckled and weight on the steeringwheel.
See youtube example starting 1:20 ish in.

 

[EVNow]

It does not seem so. You just have to have the seat buckled and weight on the steeringwheel.
See youtube example starting 1:20 ish in.

BTW, that "original unedited video" has a lot of edits

 

[EVNow]

In fairness to The Media, they are reporting the statements made by local officials. It would actually be more unprofessional to report such statements but then add "sounds like bullshit to me", or worse, ignore the story and publish nothing at all.

Uncritically reporting what officials say is the definition of propaganda / state media. Independent media should do better. They should fact check.