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

teslamotors.com

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

#271

Post by sliverstorm »

bborud wrote: post #223
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…

Good thing regular cars don't contain high voltage components or volatile, flamable fluids that can cause intense fires and even explosions...

High voltage? Do you mean the 12V battery that can't shock you, or the spark ignition that won't do much more than startle you?

I've had numerous sparks jump from distributors and plug wires through my hand. They just make your hand numb/tingly. If the jump went in your left hand and out your right, there might be some cardiovascular risks, but that's nothing compared to the risks of 400V @ god knows how many amps.

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

#272

Post by sliverstorm »

moocowduckquack wrote: post #261
JshWright wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Insulating the tools isn't really the issue. There's already a fair amount of insulation between me (the tool operator) and the business end of the tool. The problem is, we're cutting through and crushing various bits of the car that weren't really designed to be indiscriminately cut into (which is why training is so important). Both rescuers and victims have been seriously injured and killed when extrication activit…

85 kWh of potential energy sitting under the car... A 40 litre petrol tank holds about 380 kWh though.

A 40 liter petrol tank can't discharge 85kWh of potential energy in seconds without ideal conditions (good vaporization or atomization combined with sufficient oxygen)

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

#273

Post by lutusp »

gargoiler00 wrote: post #256
lutusp wrote: post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What does that mean for the user. Do batteries today last twice what they lasted 30 years ago? Nope. Are rechargeable batteries any more viable today? Nope. You are flat wrong on both counts. Modern batteries provide much more energy per size, weight and cost than their rechargeable predecessors. As to "viable", how can you make any kind of claim about batteries that didn't exist 30 years ago? > Even batteries in l…

My first laptop was an Amstrad PPC512 in the mid 80s - almost 30 years ago. I'm still not convinced batteries have come that far since then. I'm actually thinking of going back to my nokia which has a battery that lasts a week on standby. Compared to modern smartphones which last a day. You're right though - Inefficient bloated buggy software is becoming the driving force for requiring more power from batteries - goi…

> I'm still not convinced batteries have come that far since then.

Then you're suffering from evidence immunity:

http://www.akbars.net/images/battery%20energy%20density.png

The above graph shows that batteries have improved enormously in the past 30 years -- they now have more than twice the energy density they had then. There are few products that have improved so dramatically. And more improvements are in the pipeline:

http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/new-lithium-ion-b...

Quote: "Breakthrough lithium-ion battery can recharge 1,000x faster than current tech"

> Agree to disagree eh ...

This is not a matter of opinion. It's a matter of fact.

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

#274

Post by lutusp »

gargoiler00 wrote: post #268
SuperChihuahua wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tesla are actually building cars because the world is running out of oil, so if you want to drive in the future, then the car has to be electric because the price of oil is too expensive. gargoiler00: As long as the Sun shines...

The supply of electricity however, is apparently limitless!!!

> The supply of electricity however, is apparently limitless!!!

Using solar, wind, hydroelectric and future fusion reactors, yes, it is.

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

#275

Post by ramidarigaz »

gargoiler00 wrote: post #268
SuperChihuahua wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tesla are actually building cars because the world is running out of oil, so if you want to drive in the future, then the car has to be electric because the price of oil is too expensive. gargoiler00: As long as the Sun shines...

The supply of electricity however, is apparently limitless!!!

Basically, yeah.

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

#276

Post by iyulaev »

sergiosgc wrote: post #189
abalone wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi there. Go ahead and watch this video from Tesla about how to cut someone out of a Tesla. The very first step is to cut the circuit like you say, but there are a few things you overlooked. Much of the video is concerned with instructing responders how to cut around components that may remain electrified such as the converter and capacitors which, in Tesla's own words, present a "serious hazard of shock" because "th…

Nitpicking, I know, but releasing 400 volts means nothing. Current kills, tension does not. It all hinges on the internal resistance of the power source.

Perhaps it would be even better to say, "power transmission kills."

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

#277

Post by rthomas6 »

sergiosgc wrote: post #189
abalone wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi there. Go ahead and watch this video from Tesla about how to cut someone out of a Tesla. The very first step is to cut the circuit like you say, but there are a few things you overlooked. Much of the video is concerned with instructing responders how to cut around components that may remain electrified such as the converter and capacitors which, in Tesla's own words, present a "serious hazard of shock" because "th…

Nitpicking, I know, but releasing 400 volts means nothing. Current kills, tension does not. It all hinges on the internal resistance of the power source.

Well, also the resistance of the load.

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

#278

Post by JshWright »

moocowduckquack wrote: post #261
JshWright wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Insulating the tools isn't really the issue. There's already a fair amount of insulation between me (the tool operator) and the business end of the tool. The problem is, we're cutting through and crushing various bits of the car that weren't really designed to be indiscriminately cut into (which is why training is so important). Both rescuers and victims have been seriously injured and killed when extrication activit…

85 kWh of potential energy sitting under the car... A 40 litre petrol tank holds about 380 kWh though.

Yeah, but we've had almost a century of experience dealing with that...

The issues involved are also very different. A tank of gas is actually a very stable thing. Barring a puncture, there's not much you can do to a gas tank to make it do bad things.

Cutting a gas line is no major concern. Shorting a high voltage/high current power line to the frame of the vehicle is putting a lot of trust in the batteries failsafes (that trust is almost certainly justified, but with a track record measured in years, not decades, you'll forgive us for being a little paranoid...).

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

#279

Post by schiffern »

rplnt wrote: post #162
nonchalance wrote: post #25

Isn't this old news? ( http://www.treehugger.com/cars/tesla-model-s-gets-5-star-saf... was posted two weeks ago: http://www.treehugger.com/cars/tesla-model-s-gets-5-star-saf... )

Should be, as these test are done before they can enter the market.

Nope. These tests were done in July 2013, but deliveries started June 2012.

5-stars across the board is old news (lots of cars achieve that), but the fact that it's the safest car tested is new.

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