So, I was thinking about this last night as I fell asleep and thought I would post on it.
It occurred to me that not only does the Model S have a shorter stopping distance it also starts stopping faster than an ICE.
We all know that when someone does an emergency stop there are a couple of lag points in response time. The first being the time it takes for the driver's brain to register the need to stop and the time the driver begins to move their foot off the accelerator. And the second being the time it takes for the driver to actually move their foot from the accelerator to the brake.
Now in an ICE, there is no slowing (or very minimal slowing) as the driver removes there foot from the accelerator to place it on the brake. In the Model S, however, as soon as the driver lets off the accelerator to hit the brake, the car starts braking. This means that in an emergency stop, the Model S is, for all intents and purposes, removes some of the lag time when switching from accelerator to brake. Meaning the driver can begin stopping faster in the Model S than in an ICE. True the regen is not as hard of a braking manuveuor as actual braking but it does slow the car quite a bit. And this faster time to begin stopping could make the difference in avoiding an accident or at least reducing the damage caused in an accident.
So we can add this to one more way the Model S is safer than an ICE.
It occurred to me that not only does the Model S have a shorter stopping distance it also starts stopping faster than an ICE.
We all know that when someone does an emergency stop there are a couple of lag points in response time. The first being the time it takes for the driver's brain to register the need to stop and the time the driver begins to move their foot off the accelerator. And the second being the time it takes for the driver to actually move their foot from the accelerator to the brake.
Now in an ICE, there is no slowing (or very minimal slowing) as the driver removes there foot from the accelerator to place it on the brake. In the Model S, however, as soon as the driver lets off the accelerator to hit the brake, the car starts braking. This means that in an emergency stop, the Model S is, for all intents and purposes, removes some of the lag time when switching from accelerator to brake. Meaning the driver can begin stopping faster in the Model S than in an ICE. True the regen is not as hard of a braking manuveuor as actual braking but it does slow the car quite a bit. And this faster time to begin stopping could make the difference in avoiding an accident or at least reducing the damage caused in an accident.
So we can add this to one more way the Model S is safer than an ICE.
But yes, In a real emergency stop situation you need to hit your brakes instantky. That's why hypermilers and defensive drivers try to avoid being that close: you don't want to be hitting your brakes every time the driver ahead hits theirs. And, given how many people drive way too close another benefit of maintaini g a good buffer is that you can brake more slowly and give Tommy Tailgater and Sally Cellphone more time to react.
