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

Tesla has the highest fatal accident rate of all auto brands, study finds

roadandtrack.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

251–260 of 460 posts

Re: Tesla has the highest fatal accident rate of all auto brands, study finds

#251

Post by Mountain_Skies »

legitster wrote: post #3

In a big picture, this makes sense. You can load the cars with safety features, but it doesn't change the fact that these cars are very heavy, very fast, and loaded with features that reward distracted driving. In the US at least, the top killer of drivers are trees on the side of the road.

>In the US at least, the top killer of drivers are trees on the side of the road.

A decade or so ago the Georgia Department of Transportation tried to do away with the trees between streets and sidewalks because of so many fatalities coming from collisions with trees. Clearing out an "automative recovery zone" as they called it likely would have saved lives of some people in vehicles but of course it would increase the danger to pedestrians, who might or might not be present at that moment. Lots of trade offs in these types of analysis and not all of them are always immediately obvious.

Re: Tesla has the highest fatal accident rate of all auto brands, study finds

#252

Post by piotrkaminski »

stego-tech wrote: post #92
bunderbunder wrote: post #50

I'd love to see some sort of multiple regression or ANOVA on this, instead of singling out a single variable. Is car brand really the best independent predictor? Or is it specific design decisions you tend to see in certain brands? (Like, say, maximizing driver distraction by consolidating a bunch of essential controls and information displays into a touchscreen display that's really difficult to operate when it's su…

I mean, even lacking proper scientific data, ask yourself how often your brain “autocompletes” someone based on a brand or object? There’s a reason advertisers spend so much money and effort cultivating a very specific customer image: it works . In the case of Tesla - and I cannot overstress enough how much lf this is purely subjective conjecture on my part and not a statement of fact - the image cultivated by the co…

> brand that emphasizes safety or enjoyment of experience (like Hondas and Toyotas)

This is plausible on its face, and yet the Honda CR-V Hybrid ended up higher on the list than the Model Y. No idea how to explain that...

Re: Tesla has the highest fatal accident rate of all auto brands, study finds

#253

Post by _wire_ »

In any lineup by height someone is tallest and someone is shortest, so what's significant about Tesla in this spread? If not them then another.

A significant aspect is that Telsa, as a harbinger of "progress", by this measure is making cars less safe. That's a surprising development as it's contrary to the promises and prognostications for the devices.

It's expected that the distribution of harm from cars would change with increasing automation, but the promise of the automation is to make the devices safer overall. So is this a key metric by which we find that the progress is actually a hazard, or is the changing distribution part of an overall trend of improvement with some hazardous edge cases?

All we have with this article is yet another headline with no useful information.

> “A focused, alert driver, traveling at a legal or prudent speed, without being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, is the most likely to arrive safely regardless of the vehicle they’re driving.”

What does "focused and alert" mean for a robot? Does arriving safely allow a wake of carnage?

The Trump administration figures as a harbinger for such questions in that he is a well-known champion of disinformation in favor of his self interest, as are all of his cabinet picks and advisors. But this is in keeping with the modern history of the GOP.

Re: Tesla has the highest fatal accident rate of all auto brands, study finds

#254

Post by [deleted] »

notyourwork wrote: post #117
Koala_ice wrote: post #14

I thoroughyl expect the Deparment of Government Efficiency to recommend U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) be shut down to save previous taxpayer dollars.

Am I the only one that is not excited about the next four years being constant banter of this nature? I loathe it. Nothing personal against your comment but the new administration hasn't even gone into office and I cannot get away from this.

[deleted]

Re: Tesla has the highest fatal accident rate of all auto brands, study finds

#255

Post by bastloing »

bena wrote: post #237
bastloing wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Decreases your tendency to flip over. I'm astonished by all the dashcam videos out there showing collisions, usually the first thing an ice car does is flip over. Not EVs though.

That's more a factor of weight distribution rather than weight itself. EVs carry their weight lower to the ground. SUVs and pickup trucks are more top heavy. Passenger cars have a higher probability to rollover, but not that much greater than an EV.

Ice cars have a much higher rollover risk compared to EVs. All the data supports that along with physics. Absolutely weight distribution. Compare the heavy battery in an EV vs the heavy motor that's up a bit higher in an ice car. Pretty much any hit over around 20mph to the front quarter panel of an ice car, truck, or SUV will flip it over.

Re: Tesla has the highest fatal accident rate of all auto brands, study finds

#256

Post by Wytwwww »

Mountain_Skies wrote: post #238
hagbard_c wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are not alone in this sentiment. It is beyond the pale that the denizens of a 'hacker forum' are often so narrow-minded when it comes to engaging those who think outside of the personal zone of ideological preference. The same people who have been yammering about the importance of 'diversity' are dead set against diversity of opinion. Grow up, folks, get outside your comfort zone and engage some of those deplorab…

Hacker News' eventual death started the moment it joined the hysteria over the Lab Leak Theory. Since then it has trended more and more to be like Reddit, with ideological tribal concerns occupying an increasingly large mindshare. This drives away people who want to have earnest conversations in good faith, giving even more power to the ideologues. It will be a long death spiral but you can see it happening day by da…

[flagged]

Re: Tesla has the highest fatal accident rate of all auto brands, study finds

#257

Post by jfengel »

ryandvm wrote: post #24
Koala_ice wrote: post #14

I thoroughyl expect the Deparment of Government Efficiency to recommend U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) be shut down to save previous taxpayer dollars.

Not even remotely farce. I hope the rest of the world is taking notes...

Unfortunately, they are. They have discovered that this kind of behavior gets people into office.

Expect to see more of it.

Re: Tesla has the highest fatal accident rate of all auto brands, study finds

#258

Post by Rygian »

legitster wrote: post #184
kevinqi wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aside from the distracted driving part, which is real, there are two physical aspects of the model 3 that I find to be safety issues as well-- the two front windshield beams are thick and add a sort of blind spot, and the side mirrors don't give you great field of view.

Also, the instrument cluster is located in the center, outside of the driver's direct view. And most of the important controls for the driver do not have tactile buttons.

Which are those controls?

I drive a Tesla since 2019 and have never needed a touchscreen control for the driving itself.

Re: Tesla has the highest fatal accident rate of all auto brands, study finds

#259

Post by Alupis »

> 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 ratings for safety by the likes of IIHS and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, as well.

> So, why are Teslas — and many other ostensibly safe cars on the list — involved in so many fatal crashes? “The models on this list likely reflect a combination of driver behavior and driving conditions, leading to increased crashes and fatalities,” iSeeCars executive analyst Karl Brauer said in the report. “A focused, alert driver, traveling at a legal or prudent speed, without being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, is the most likely to arrive safely regardless of the vehicle they’re driving.”

Ok so Tesla's aren't less safe than any other vehicle in this lineup. It's just that Tesla drivers are more likely to be careless.

Re: Tesla has the highest fatal accident rate of all auto brands, study finds

#260

Post by tim333 »

Mountain_Skies wrote: post #238
hagbard_c wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are not alone in this sentiment. It is beyond the pale that the denizens of a 'hacker forum' are often so narrow-minded when it comes to engaging those who think outside of the personal zone of ideological preference. The same people who have been yammering about the importance of 'diversity' are dead set against diversity of opinion. Grow up, folks, get outside your comfort zone and engage some of those deplorab…

Hacker News' eventual death started the moment it joined the hysteria over the Lab Leak Theory. Since then it has trended more and more to be like Reddit, with ideological tribal concerns occupying an increasingly large mindshare. This drives away people who want to have earnest conversations in good faith, giving even more power to the ideologues. It will be a long death spiral but you can see it happening day by da…

I'm not sure what hysteria about lab leaks? I mean maybe it did, maybe it didn't.
Post reply on HN