X owner claims unintended acceleration caused accident

[e_joules4all]

Have not head people mentioned this, but there are actually people driving with two feet, and I'm not talking about the clutch on a stick shift. They have the right foot on the acc pedal, the left foot on the brake. And you know the rest from this point on.

I'm not saying this was how the driver in this accident drove. However, it's a fact that gets overlooked easily in cases involving pedal confusion.

I also know someone who drives with "hanging" foot. i.e. the heel does not touch the floor.

Embrace the human diversity!

 

[Oursecondone]

After it has been proven to him that his wife caused the accident, with the exact particulars of the speed when she accelerated to 100%, he says in reply:

"I am waiting to hear from Tesla whether the accelerator pedal can be depressed by the car electronically similar to gas-powered cars’ pedal being depressed on their own while in cruise control.”

This reveals just how disingenuous he is. Why is he waiting to hear from Tesla on this? He knows the answer - we all do. Of course it does. How else would cruise control work on his vehicle, let alone AP. But he acts as if when Tesla answers "yes" he will be vindicated. And he doesn't even realize how just by asking this question, he looks even worse than he already does. What a bonehead. And it looks like both he and his wife make a great pair. One makes a mistake and the other compounds it. Put them together and there's more morals in a chipmunk than this pair of fools.

....Yep...Issue resolved...move on peeps...nothing to see here....

 

[shonline]

I know the stalk isn't new I remember an old station wagon we had as kids where it was up there. I'm referring to pressing the button to put it in park and engage the parking brakes.

I'm just stating that most cars still have the gears in the center console area and most likely the driver was coming from that same setup from their previous car.

Same stalk that we've had in two consecutive Mercedes. In fact, the signal, cruise and gear shift on the S are identical to the ones on my wife's G class suv.

 

[biotweak]

Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) Model X Accelerates Autonomously And Crashes Into Building

Just read this story and I'm a bit suprised if this is even possible. I've driven over 1000 autopilot miles in the MX so far. This guy was a new driver, only 5 days old? I can't imagine it auto-accelerated into the wall. I do know that emergency braking doesn't work as well if it isn't metal but this is crazy. The MX parks perfectly by itself in a tight garage everyday, so I don't know how this can happen. Any thoughts?

 

[deonb]

Duplicate thread:
X owner claims unintended acceleration caused accident

 

[CmdrThor]

I felt sorry for them yesterday, but now I feel sorry for Tesla, which has suffered huge damage to the reputation of their cars as this story has spread in the media like wildfire. I also feel sorry for the wife. Her loud mouth husband has now been embarrassed by her lie and he is not likely to be happy about it. I realize I don't know him, but the fact he came to Tesla's forum to call on them to stop selling Model X's doesn't speak to a real stable, mature individual. He'll be lucky if Tesla doesn't sue him.

I doubt Tesla suffered "huge damage". If they had not responded to his public claim or if the vehicle actually did crash on its own there would be major damage. But Tesla analyzed the logs, had PR issue a statement to the news outlet that first reported the story, and everyone else went on with their lives. The biggest damages were to the Model X, the building, the guy and his wife's credibility, and their customer relationship with Tesla. Unless they publicly recant their story I don't imagine they will be getting a new Tesla anytime soon.

 

[deonb]

"I am waiting to hear from Tesla whether the accelerator pedal can be depressed by the car electronically similar to gas-powered cars’ pedal being depressed on their own while in cruise control.”

This reveals just how disingenuous he is. Why is he waiting to hear from Tesla on this? He knows the answer - we all do. Of course it does. How else would cruise control work on his vehicle, let alone AP.

It does? (Mechanically move the accelerator pedal?).

I always thought the Model S's cruise control adjusts and holds the speed but the accelerator pedal remains at the "0" position.

My previous Toyota had a cruise control that very obviously physically moved the pedal, but that's not necessary on the Model S, and I didn't think it did that?

 

[zambono]

David Noland of greencarreports experienced a very similar situation in his 2013 Model S 2 years ago.
Life With Tesla Model S: UPDATE On Pedal Placement Problem

This one also is likely a 'Design Induced Human Error (DIHE)'. Tesla may not be completely out of the woods yet. The logs should definitely be released for independent third party verification.
Design-induced Human Errors - Who's to Blame?

The recent AP accidents in US & Europe, and the summon incident where a Model S drove itself under a trailer likely also fall under DIHE. I mean, if the AP gives up at the last moment, just before the collision, how is anyone supposed to take control and avoid the mishap? It's only a matter of someone actually filing a lawsuit to contest Tesla's claims. Hope Tesla has though throught these.

I hope they actually fix this and treat it as a priority. If the crash can't be prevented then apply full brake no matter what the driver is doing.

 

[ecarfan]

Duplicate thread:
X owner claims unintended acceleration caused accident

Circular reference. You linked to the thread you posted in.

 

[deonb]

Circular reference. You linked to the thread you posted in.

What? No!

I blame it on a rogue mod who went and merged the threads...

 

[ecarfan]

Sorry, that didn't occur to me. If you made that post in another thread, then that would explain it. I suggest a mod simply delete that post and the follow ups.

 

[MarkS22]

If the crash can't be prevented then apply full brake no matter what the driver is doing.

The technology isn't there yet. Have you ever had the warning go off from a shadow in the road? Or, what if a plastic bag or cardboard box goes in front of the sensors at 60mph? Or, if you're on train tracks--I know, you shouldn't be stopped on them..just an example--and the option is force the car to push into another car or get hit by a train? Or, if accelerating into a bush or cornfield can prevent being hit by something more dangerous?

 

[Chet]

From TCC:
"While speaking to Electrek, a Tesla spokesperson has issued an official statement after seeing the logs. The company analyzed the logs and found that the car was in manual mode during the crash and in the time leading up to it. Neither cruise control nor autopilot was enabled. According to the logs, the vehicle was traveling at 6 mph when the user depressed the pedal completely due to which the vehicle abruptly sped up.''

 

[CuriousG]

What? No!

I blame it on a rogue mod who went and merged the threads...

Just blame it on the wife like the crash incident in this thread.

 

[boofagle]

I was reading through the original thread and came across an eyewitness comment and seems to only confirm what tesla already knows:

ben.hahr | June 6, 2016
Witnessed this accident first hand from across that plaza in East Irvine. Did not appear to be reminiscent of the recent auto-park into a semi-truck trailer incident. Rather, looked just like someone stomped the accelerator instead of the brakes. Interestingly, the car never came to a full stop, just pulled in somewhat aggressively and then bam accelerator pedal was slammed. On a side note, pretty crazy so much oil spills out of an elevator or whatever that was!

 

[azred]

Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) Model X Accelerates Autonomously And Crashes Into Building

Just read this story and I'm a bit suprised if this is even possible. I've driven over 1000 autopilot miles in the MX so far. This guy was a new driver, only 5 days old? I can't imagine it auto-accelerated into the wall. I do know that emergency braking doesn't work as well if it isn't metal but this is crazy. The MX parks perfectly by itself in a tight garage everyday, so I don't know how this can happen. Any thoughts?

I doubt Tesla suffered "huge damage". If they had not responded to his public claim or if the vehicle actually did crash on its own there would be major damage. But Tesla analyzed the logs, had PR issue a statement to the news outlet that first reported the story, and everyone else went on with their lives. The biggest damages were to the Model X, the building, the guy and his wife's credibility, and their customer relationship with Tesla. Unless they publicly recant their story I don't imagine they will be getting a new Tesla anytime soon.

The problem with defamatory statements is that the wild accusation always gets more attention then the reasoned response. A year or two from now prospective purchasers will still be talking about that Tesla that went rogue and crashed into a building. Toyota went through this very same issue a few years ago and you wouldn't have too much trouble finding folks who are still hesitant to buy a Toyota because of their "safety concerns."

 

[zambono]

The technology isn't there yet. Have you ever had the warning go off from a shadow in the road? Or, what if a plastic bag or cardboard box goes in front of the sensors at 60mph? Or, if you're on train tracks--I know, you shouldn't be stopped on them..just an example--and the option is force the car to push into another car or get hit by a train? Or, if accelerating into a bush or cornfield can prevent being hit by something more dangerous?

So you are concerned about false positives, got it.

 

[dhanson865]

The problem with defamatory statements is that the wild accusation always gets more attention then the reasoned response. A year or two from now prospective purchasers will still be talking about that Tesla that went rogue and crashed into a building. Toyota went through this very same issue a few years ago and you wouldn't have too much trouble finding folks who are still hesitant to buy a Toyota because of their "safety concerns."

Yeah I got a 2005 Prius back in the acceleration scare days when book value had dropped from $15,000 to $10,000 in a short period. Still have it today. The book values rebounded a few years later but depreciation overshadowed that. Never an issue with the car but it severely depressed car values quickly and for several years afterward.

I think the key concept is Toyota makes or can make more cars than they sell. Tesla can't make enough cars vs demand and has been behind demand 95% or more of the time since the company started selling cars.

A tech scare will hurt Toyota more than Tesla.

 

[Super_Popular]

6 mph to 100% OMG

 

[rhumbliner]

A buddy of mine has long suspected that his MS sneaks out of the garage at night to meet other MS's at the local drag strip just to hang out and lay a little rubber and then sneaks back home before he gets up in the morning. Now we have proof that is possible.