interesting story from test drive at factory

[CapitalistOppressor]

It will be intersting to hear the disposition of this incident. Did Tesla pay the damages to avoid a controversy, or did the driver's insurance pay as agreed to prior to the test drive. Especially with the logs from the car it seems certain that it was driver error. It might be beneficial to test the ability of the car's logs to hold up as evidence in an accident.

It was a minor incident from everything I've heard. Speed was a relatively high 15mph, but reported damage was cosmetic. It would be a trivial cost for Tesla to fix its own demo cars and it could help win a sale with a profit margin far in excess of the loss. If I was Blankenship and the loss was less than $5,000ish I'd just write it off and offer everyone involved a lolly pop.

 

[AnOutsider]

Moderator Note: Posts about two-footed driving and hills have gone to Hill Hold Function

 

[doug]

All the two foot driving/left foot breaking discussion went here: Two foot driving

Stay on topic!

 

[robaross]

Is there no concern that in the event of an accident, your insurance company could subpoena the Tesla logs and use them to claim "wreckless driving" and not cover damages and/or claims? Is this an invasion of privacy, and will Tesla make us sign a waiver regarding access to the logs? I know they want to collect data, but I'm disturbed by the potential abuse of this information.

 

[dsm363]

Is there no concern that in the event of an accident, your insurance company could subpoena the Tesla logs and use them to claim "wreckless driving" and not cover damages and/or claims? Is this an invasion of privacy, and will Tesla make us sign a waiver regarding access to the logs? I know they want to collect data, but I'm disturbed by the potential abuse of this information.

Many cars already have this and it looks like congress is looking to make event data recorders mandatory.
Hate To Break It To You, But Your Car Likely Has A Black Box 'Spying' On You Already - Forbes

I don't think Tesla will be any different in this regard. I'm sure Tesla has all the data they need to analyze what happened but we'll probably never know.

 

[doug]

Is there no concern that in the event of an accident, your insurance company could subpoena the Tesla logs and use them to claim "wreckless driving" and not cover damages and/or claims? Is this an invasion of privacy, and will Tesla make us sign a waiver regarding access to the logs? I know they want to collect data, but I'm disturbed by the potential abuse of this information.

This is not new by any means. Law enforcement has been using the "black box" in cars to determine/prove excessive speed in accidents for some years now.

 

[napabill]

I heard this from someone who was at the factory: cannot verify veracity

Tesla reviewed logs of the test drives. One of the cars was clocked as going at 120 mph.

A model S actually got into an accident. The customer claimed that the 'throttle misbehaved'. Tesla looked up the logs and told the customer that 'you had pressed the throttle and the brake at the SAME time for longer than 3 seconds, so we automatically disengaged the throttle. That is why your speed was only 15 mph when the incident took place and not 55 mph'.

How does liability insurance work for the test drives? I assume Tesla covers it.

Being the "hit'ee" I can certainly verify the veracity of the accident in Fremont on 6/24. But that is the first I've heard of the actual cause. Still haven't heard from the "hit'or".

 

[robaross]

But it is not yet mandatory and the data should not be available to anyone but Tesla for their own internal uses. Many were upset that a sound generator might be added even though not yet required by law and it appears Tesla is not putting that on the car until required by law.

 

[dsm363]

Being the "hit'ee" I can certainly verify the veracity of the accident in Fremont on 6/24. But that is the first I've heard of the actual cause. Still haven't heard from the "hit'or".

I assume everyone got out of their cars after he hit you. Did he not say anything to you? Very odd.

 

[TEG]

This is not new by any means. Law enforcement has been using the "black box" in cars to determine/prove excessive speed in accidents for some years now.

I wonder if we will see the day where you get a speeding ticket automatically billed to you as soon as your "black box" turns you in.
If the GPS, speed limit database, and car logger all worked together it would probably be easy to implement.
Cell modem to get the credit card auth instantly... :cursing:

At least it would be more energy efficient than having law enforcement have to chase you.

Perhaps at first they should just provide an audible warning (that doesn't shut off) when it thinks you are exceeding the speed limit significantly.

 

[Lloyd]

I wonder if we will see the day where you get a speeding ticket automatically billed to you as soon as your "black box" turns you in.
If the GPS, speed limit database, and car logger all worked together it would probably be easy to implement.
Cell modem to get the credit card auth instantly... :cursing:

At least it would be more energy efficient than having law enforcement have to chase you.

Perhaps at first they should just provide an audible warning (that doesn't shut off) when it thinks you are exceeding the speed limit significantly.

It would be easier for the government to make everyone drive the same cars that go the same speed, accelerate the same, one color, and only go so fast. All in the name of keeping you safe from yourself, and not being better than anyone else! Don't laugh, we are headed in that direction!

 

[bonnie]

I laughed.

 

[raymond]

... accelerate the same ...

I had actually been thinking about that. How many 18 y/o's do we want on our roads in 0-to-60 under 4.0 cars? We have agreed that speeding is bad, and soon we may agree that mad crazy acceleration is just as bad. Some have already "agreed" that silent cars are bad!

 

[napabill]

I assume everyone got out of their cars after he hit you. Did he not say anything to you? Very odd.

The TM techs came running up and opened the passenger side door to make sure we were ok. We then went on our way. Never saw what happened to the white "S" that hit us. Assume they went on their way as well.

 

[MitchL]

The TM techs came running up and opened the passenger side door to make sure we were ok. We then went on our way. Never saw what happened to the white "S" that hit us. Assume they went on their way as well.

Two Tesla employees took the white one out to the factory area (behind the loading area) for about 10 minutes or so, then put it back in the line. Presumably that's when they gave it the once-over, downloaded the logs, etc.

I was the first test drive in the car after it was returned to the pool, so I took a good look at the bumper as I got in. I couldn't see any obvious damage (I don't even recall seeing any scuff or paint marks).

/Mitch.

 

[napabill]

Interesting. Because we were called back after the incident, we became the last car in that sequence. Was following what I presumed was the white "S" that hit us. Apparently it was you. Hope the bad vibes I was sending your way didn't bother you!

 

[MitchL]

Interesting. Because we were called back after the incident, we became the last car in that sequence. Was following what I presumed was the white "S" that hit us. Apparently it was you. Hope the bad vibes I was sending your way didn't bother you!

Well, I told my copilot I was going to "drive like my grandmother" until we got out of the facility. The incident gave me the fear that the accelerator was going to be *super* sensitive. I turned it into a positive thing; I paid careful attention to driving slowly and precisely. Model S also performs very well just creeping along, much easier to control than I thought it would be given the how fast/powerful it is. I should have known that would be the case, since electric motors are precisely controllable things.

'course once I got to the 'floor it!' sign outside, well, that was pretty smooth too!

/Mitch.

 

[CMS595]

I wonder if we will see the day where you get a speeding ticket automatically billed to you as soon as your "black box" turns you in.
If the GPS, speed limit database, and car logger all worked together it would probably be easy to implement.
Cell modem to get the credit card auth instantly... :cursing:

At least it would be more energy efficient than having law enforcement have to chase you.

Perhaps at first they should just provide an audible warning (that doesn't shut off) when it thinks you are exceeding the speed limit significantly.

LOL. Already had something like that happen to my mother.
She was in a rental car visiting family in Texas. She got an email 2 weeks after the incident with a video of her not "completely" stopping for a right turn on red. The city also included a link where she could just enter her credit card info to pay the ticket.
On top of all of that, the rental car company charged her a $35 "convenience fee" for giving her info and email to the city where the incident happened. She was not a happy camper.
The incident and use of technology was an eye-opener for the entire family. The video was pretty hilarious.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Gotta tell you a story that an Australian coworker told me about his friend in Sydney. He apparently drives this obscure stretch of road to work everyday usually doing something like 45 in a ~35 zone (rough mile estimates - don't remember the km equivalents).

Apparently, the authorities installed a speed camera there (without a forewarning or in-your-face signage). Lo and behold, by Thursday, he had been caught thrice on camera speeding and was driving on an auto-suspended license by Friday! Meanwhile, the speeding tickets were still making their way through the mail system

 

[mklcolvin]

Wow, that sounds like Double-Secret Probation! :biggrin:

Gotta tell you a story that an Australian coworker told me about his friend in Sydney. He apparently drives this obscure stretch of road to work everyday usually doing something like 45 in a ~35 zone (rough mile estimates - don't remember the km equivalents).

Apparently, the authorities installed a speed camera there (without a forewarning or in-your-face signage). Lo and behold, by Thursday, he had been caught thrice on camera speeding and was driving on an auto-suspended license by Friday! Meanwhile, the speeding tickets were still making their way through the mail system