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Tesla Model S achieves best safety rating of any car ever tested

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Re: Tesla Model S achieves best safety rating of any car ever tested

#121

Post by dredmorbius »

stevewilber wrote: post #78
dredmorbius wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First: SUVs don't survive crashes particularly well -- they're very prone to rollover, which generally makes for a bad day for the occupant. I've witnessed multiple large-SUV vs. Camry (mid-sized sedan) accidents where the Toyota fared far better (walk away vs. ambulance or worse). Weight can be a factor, especially in multiple-vehicle accidents, where the heavier vehicle simply has more momentum and kinetic energy.…

First: SUVs don't survive crashes particularly well This is outdated information, SUVs are now far safer than cars. Death rate (per 1M vehicle years) for 4WD midsize SUV: 23. Midsize Sedan: 51 [1] [1] http://www.iihs.org/externaldata/srdata/docs/sr4605.pdf

Interesting. The change is almost totally attributable to ESC (electronic stability control), which directly addresses SUV's Achilles' heel. It's also interesting to note the variability in results -- the Audi A6 is one of the safest luxury vehicles (I suspect the Tesla S will change that), and the Honda Accord is remarkably safe for a mid-sized sedan (though the Civic doesn't do as well relative to its class).

It's also interesting to note that pickups can fare quite poorly (the Nissan Titan Crew Cab is among the worst vehicles listed), and even within the same manufacturer, lager models aren't necessarily safer (Mazda 3 at 52 deaths/million miles, Mazda 6 at 60). The error bounds and total miles (exposure) on a number of the larger SUVs are also large and small respectively, suggesting a possible data collection limitation.

Re: Tesla Model S achieves best safety rating of any car ever tested

#122

Post by klinquist »

curiousDog wrote: post #39
bobbles wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there some kind of diagram that explains how this works? I can't really see how this works just by imagining it.

Not exactly a diagram but the a video of the test: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz2FMfv-CSc A bmw 3 series (not full frontal): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XG8BQt4sHY

0:58 - 1:07 of the first video link... the car continues to attempt to propel itself into the wall.

Re: Tesla Model S achieves best safety rating of any car ever tested

#123

Post by ChuckMcM »

spullara wrote: post #103
ChuckMcM wrote: post #54

Very impressive. One really cannot over stress that there is a lot of car that you "don't need" in the front and back if you don't have a big engine but using it for energy absorption is a certainly valid use. So far the only complaints my friends have had with their cars has been the "constant" updates to the software.

I can't believe people would complain about the updates to the software. They are more rare than iPhone dot releases and come with real benefits. Maybe they were pulling your chain.

It is certainly possible they were yanking my chain, would not be the first time. Our CTO Greg had an issue with the 'low power' recharge situation which was fixed by a later software update. I've not manageed to get the building owner to install a charging station in our parking lot yet alas.

Re: Tesla Model S achieves best safety rating of any car ever tested

#124

Post by nitrogen »

kbar13 wrote: post #117
sjtrny wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That seems like such a shit way of doing the pole test and introduces too much randomness to be uniform across all cars. The much better way is to keep the car stationary on a moving platform like ANCAP does http://www.ancap.com.au/crashtesting

is randomness not good? you aren't going to be driving around on a rail irl

Not when you're trying to make an objective comparison with a small number of trials.

Re: Tesla Model S achieves best safety rating of any car ever tested

#125

Post by DonGateley »

I keep fearing this guy is going to pull a John Gault on us. He's the closest thing to an Ayn Rand character I've seen in my lifetime. Too close for comfort.

Atlas Shrugged came out when I was entering high school and almost ruined me according to my dad back then (and he was a republican.) :-)

Re: Tesla Model S achieves best safety rating of any car ever tested

#126

Post by abalone »

sitharus wrote: post #120
abalone wrote: post #110

This is all very good PR.... BUT. The critical safety concern with the Tesla is....... You guessed it. The high voltage system. It can kill you or a first responder with a touch. It's not just about batteries catching fire, although that's gotten a lot of press lately. A chief concern during a Tesla accident is the exposure of high voltage components. It's a big concern for first responders. Read it from the horse's…

> All I'm saying is, never trust Elon Musk PR to tell you the whole picture. Never trust anyone's PR to give you the whole picture! Though as a counterpoint, I've seen cars with the roof cut off to extract people, but never the side doors or the floor cut open. I don't think they'd cut the floor since it's quite thick and has all sorts of wires and pipes anyway.

You've never seen doors cut off? You must not have seen much then.. happens all the time. Google jaws of life.

BTW here is the Tesla first responder training video that shows how to cut off a door(!) and move the dash without electrocuting yourself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntK3rvVl2Qw

It's a pretty cool video, I expect most people on this thread would enjoy watching it. I sure did.. although I'm not sure I'd want to be stuck bleeding in a Tesla while they figure it out.

Also a little concerned about a short happening during an accident and electrifying passengers.. would like to know more about the risks there.

Re: Tesla Model S achieves best safety rating of any car ever tested

#127

Post by agumonkey »

RomP wrote: post #22

This is simply unkind to the competition (and to the poles alike): "Tesla achieved this outcome by nesting multiple deep aluminum extrusions in the side rail of the car that absorb the impact energy (a similar approach was used by the Apollo Lunar Lander) and transfer load to the rest of the vehicle. This causes the pole to be either sheared off or to stop the car before the pole hits an occupant." There's winning an…

Is it too far fetched to say he benefited from SpaceX research ? if so, this kind of gene transfer reminds me of Apple years when the iPhone benefited from iPod and Mac hard and software knowledge to leapfrog the competition, and then later helped the MBA do it again.

Re: Tesla Model S achieves best safety rating of any car ever tested

#128

Post by agumonkey »

abalone wrote: post #110

This is all very good PR.... BUT. The critical safety concern with the Tesla is....... You guessed it. The high voltage system. It can kill you or a first responder with a touch. It's not just about batteries catching fire, although that's gotten a lot of press lately. A chief concern during a Tesla accident is the exposure of high voltage components. It's a big concern for first responders. Read it from the horse's…

About that, do cars attempt to shut down engines, fuel intake and electric pathways when detecting a collision ? I remember Liquid Gas vehicles having an emergency outlet to avoid fire/explosions. In Tesla's case that would be cutting the battery off the circuit and maybe putting it into a 'fast drain' mode ..

Re: Tesla Model S achieves best safety rating of any car ever tested

#129

Post by ricardobeat »

kirse wrote: post #86

I'm sorry, but as a car enthusiast who spent much of his younger years devouring every ounce of Road&Track/Car&Driver mags, the phrase "any car ever tested" is a bit over the top... I'm almost positive the McLaren F1 (a car 20 years older) fared better than the Tesla in safety testing and was capable of being driven away after the testing finished... F1 @ 30mph: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLare…

It's very likely that the Model S could also be driven away after the tests, since the engine sits on the rear axle and the only electronic component in the front is the 12v battery.

Re: Tesla Model S achieves best safety rating of any car ever tested

#130

Post by ricardobeat »

sliverstorm wrote: post #90
ricardobeat wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That fallacy is debunked by every sports car ever.

Sports cars have always made sacrifices in this regard. The first being simply that real sports cars are half the size of a modern saloon, which gives much less room for crumpling.

The fallacious argument is newer/more expensive = more secure. Every car has compromises.
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