Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Four dead in fire as Tesla doors fail to open after crash

myelectricsparks.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

131–140 of 188 posts

Re: Four dead in fire as Tesla doors fail to open after crash

#131

Post by more_corn »

rightbyte wrote: post #3
ndiddy wrote: post #2

Another similar incident happened around a week after that one: https://www.channel3000.com/news/dane-county-sheriffs-office... . One thing to note is that the car doors in Teslas are electrically controlled and a different failsafe method of opening the doors is required when the electrical system isn't working. Here's the steps for manually opening the Model Y's rear doors (car in the story the post links to): http…

* Remove the mat from the bottom of the rear door pocket. * Press the red tab to remove the access door. * Pull the mechanical release cable forward. It doesn't feel very panic friendly to have the emergency release hidden?

Yeah that’s not happening when you’re literally on fire.

Re: Four dead in fire as Tesla doors fail to open after crash

#133

Post by valval »

OutOfHere wrote: post #92
speedgoose wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn’t the average car safety be significantly below a Tesla Model Y anyway?

Tesla has the highest fatality rate, so that is ruled out! :) Secondly, it is the coupling of electronic controls with unintuitive manual backups that create the danger.

The analysis you refer to isn’t super interesting as it’s not controlled.

You’d need to be able to prove that independent safety and crash testing organisations are pushing out faulty results, since Teslas are among the safest (if not the safest) cars by their standards.

Re: Four dead in fire as Tesla doors fail to open after crash

#134

Post by valval »

DrillShopper wrote: post #98
ndiddy wrote: post #2

Another similar incident happened around a week after that one: https://www.channel3000.com/news/dane-county-sheriffs-office... . One thing to note is that the car doors in Teslas are electrically controlled and a different failsafe method of opening the doors is required when the electrical system isn't working. Here's the steps for manually opening the Model Y's rear doors (car in the story the post links to): http…

Damn if only we had the tech to open doors mechanically. Imagine that world. I hope Elon takes a few weeks away from destroying the US Government in January to think about this./s For real though, I hope the relatives of the deceased take Elon personally and Tesla as a company for all they're worth.

> Some crazy shit with /s

> Double down on the crazy shit this time for real

Re: Four dead in fire as Tesla doors fail to open after crash

#135

Post by redwall_hp »

Symbiote wrote: post #99
beAbU wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Especially egregious considering it's likely kids will be back there. And the release is in a place thats probably impossible to get to from the front seat (in the model Y)

I have written this before [1]. I had to kick the rear door of the family car after an accident when I was about 11. The car blocking both doors on the other side was on fire, and I was later told our car was also on fire. I wouldn't have known to lift the carpet and pull some release tag, and with the door badly damaged from a collision I also wouldn't have been able to kick it while pulling the tab. It was night, s…

You probably can't break the glass either. Newer vehicles, especially Teslas, often have laminated glass that glass breakers have been found to not break.

Re: Four dead in fire as Tesla doors fail to open after crash

#136

Post by ipython »

pininja wrote: post #11
rightbyte wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

* Remove the mat from the bottom of the rear door pocket. * Press the red tab to remove the access door. * Pull the mechanical release cable forward. It doesn't feel very panic friendly to have the emergency release hidden?

Every Uber I take in a Tesla would practically need an airline safety briefing for this. There’s no way I’d find it on my own.

That would be a fantastic idea: sell printed Tesla safety cards in the style of airplane safety cards.

Re: Four dead in fire as Tesla doors fail to open after crash

#137

Post by giantg2 »

fallingsquirrel wrote: post #74
giantg2 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Tesla didn't account at all for what happens ..." Tesla might not have, but you can. Always have a glass breaker and seatbelt cutter in your vehicle. Doors get crumpled and can't open regardless of make/model.

> Always have a glass breaker Isn't this advice becoming dated now that most new cars have side windows with laminated glass? https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a28422725/car-windows-glas...

Usually rear windows do not. Even laminated side windows can be defeated more easily if cracked. The lamination is pretty thin compared to many other types of laminated glass.

Re: Four dead in fire as Tesla doors fail to open after crash

#138

Post by redwall_hp »

OptionOfT wrote: post #54
kylehotchkiss wrote: post #20

I’ll leave a thought that isn’t a Tesla criticism (because the others are good): everybody should carry a lifehammer in their car. If not for saving your own life, it might come in handy for saving somebody else’s. https://www.amazon.com/Lifehammer-Brand-Safety-Hammer-Nether... Don’t buy the cheap Chinese knockoffs.

https://www.lifehammerproducts.com/app/uploads/2024/06/20240... Lifehammers don't work on laminated glass, like your front windshield (that would be bad, as it would mean a rock chip would shatter your window). But more and more manufactures are putting in laminated side windows in their cars both for comfort (noise) and rollover protection, so Lifehammers don't work there either. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptaI…

Tesla is one of those companies. The side glass on their deathtrap shitboxes is fairly resistant to glass hammers.

Re: Four dead in fire as Tesla doors fail to open after crash

#139

Post by solardev »

renewedrebecca wrote: post #115
solardev wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bet they wanted something more obvious but were overridden by someone who wanted to keep the vehicle sleek and futuristic. If so, it's the worst kind of "I told you so" :/

But who at Tesla would do that?

It's quite a mystery, isn't it?

Re: Four dead in fire as Tesla doors fail to open after crash

#140

Post by redwall_hp »

sorenjan wrote: post #82
alex1138 wrote: post #42

You know, I was really sad when the Shuttle retired in 2011 (which itself had numerous safety problems they probably had to fix). And this glowing idea SpaceX will aid us onwards into the future, blah blah. I hope to god SpaceX doesn't act in a careless way like Tesla has been accused of doing

They damaged at least one car when their launch pad was suddenly distributed over a large area, throwing concrete pieces at least 6.5 miles. https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-04-26/spacex-sta...

They've also been fined for polluting waters with their launchpad deluge system.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/spacex-polluted-...

They also have a history of doing things without waiting for FAA approval.

https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-proposes-633009-civil-penal...

Enron Musk has also mouthed off about NLRB and OSHA stuff before too, which seems like a red flag for a company employing workers to handle hazardous materials and do dangerous things.

Post reply on HN