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

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

#141

Post by pvaldes »

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.

Maybe cars should be designed with a small button and a system to do that when airbag is deployed.

If you carry a fireweapon, don't lose time finding the lifehammer (But then we need to choose between bulletproof glasses for external threats or breakable glasses for internal danger. Both options are exclusive).

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

#142

Post by throw0101b »

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.

> Every Uber I take in a Tesla would practically need an airline safety briefing for this.

If your Uber ride is a Model Y you may be SOL:

    Not all Model Y vehicles are equipped with a manual release for the rear doors.

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

#143

Post by rad_gruchalski »

nemomarx wrote: post #5
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…

why are the doors electronically controlled to start with? is it cost savings?

How are you otherwise going to close the door with a button on that ipad in the middle?

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

#144

Post by thatguymike »

redwall_hp wrote: post #135
Symbiote wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I hear a ball bearing will do the job nicely.

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

#145

Post by drivebycomment »

proee wrote: post #56
crazygringo wrote: post #10

> Tesla has faced criticism in the past for the design of its manual release levers, which are considered poorly designed and unintuitively placed. These emergency measures require intimate knowledge of the car, something that may not be feasible in a panic situation. First, how is this remotely legal? Are there not safety standards to ensure adults can easily exit a vehicle on fire? Second, regardless of regulations…

This seems like a huge failure on the part of the NTSB. Tesla is getting a lot of attention for this incident, but are there other manufactures that would have had the exact same problem given this same incident? The entire point of organizations like the NTSB is to prevent unsafe cars from going into production. The NTSB has given this type of door opening a green light. WHY?

> This seems like a huge failure on the part of the NTSB.

This is a deep misunderstanding. NTSB is not an organization with a regulatory power - it is an "investigative" agency. It does not have any mandate or power to stop anyone from doing anything. It can investigate and issue recommendations and reports to other agencies that have the actual power - FAA, FHA, NHTSA, etc, etc.

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

#146

Post by tetha »

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...

This is something I found worrying, tbh.

With tempered glass, firefighters heading for a vehicle accident attach glass breakers on a string to their gloves. That way, they can pull a person out of a car in 20 seconds if the immediate danger is larger than the medical considerations, and the person isn't stuck.

With laminated windows, you need a Halligan bar or some other poking tool (sometimes forcefully moving a spike towards a patient) to make a hole, a Sawzall which needs 10 seconds alone to go through common glass, time to get all of that...

It's worrying how much faster vehicle safety is moving compared to emergency extraction capabilities.

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

#147

Post by sahmeepee »

proee wrote: post #71
crazygringo wrote: post #10

> Tesla has faced criticism in the past for the design of its manual release levers, which are considered poorly designed and unintuitively placed. These emergency measures require intimate knowledge of the car, something that may not be feasible in a panic situation. First, how is this remotely legal? Are there not safety standards to ensure adults can easily exit a vehicle on fire? Second, regardless of regulations…

The tolerance on many doors is such that even with a slight amount of damage, they are "physically" unable to open. The latch mechanism can get "jammed". Per the NTSB, they recommend that all electronic locks disengage in the case of an accident. Does Tesla follow this recommendation? It's possible the vehicle was damaged in such a way that none of the door could open because of mechanical interferences.

As someone else has pointed out, a car with electronic opening won't open even an unlocked door without power, so the Tesla could be compliant without meeting the spirit of the recommendation.

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

#148

Post by l1tany11 »

noncoml wrote: post #28
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…

Lexus’s latest cars have electrically controlled doors as well. The mechanical failover is a bit better mind you, you have to pull twice instead of pushing, but I am not sure how panic proof it is. I live techlnology but IMHO it is overdone in modern cars. Please bring back tactile and mechanical controls where possible.

I’d be curious if there’s a single brand that has no electronic door latches at this point. Every brand I can think of has them on at least one vehicle. They have been in mainstream brands (like Chevy) for like 20+ years now.

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

#149

Post by OutOfHere »

remus wrote: post #128
OutOfHere wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Tesla Has Highest Fatal Accident Rate of All Auto Brands: Study" (2024) https://autos.yahoo.com/tesla-highest-fatal-accident-rate-16...

Interesting quote from that piece: > The study's authors make clear that the results do not indicate Tesla vehicles are inherently unsafe or have design flaws. In fact, Tesla vehicles are loaded with safety technology; the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) named the 2024 Model Y as a Top Safety Pick+ award winner, for example. Many of the other cars that ranked highly on the list have also been given high…

I am going to look at the data, not at the subjective reinterpretation or subjective rating.
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