Garlan Garner
Banned
I concur. Its not necessary.Do we really need to start a new thread with every wreck, I think not.
You can install our site as a web app on your iOS device by utilizing the Add to Home Screen feature in Safari. Please see this thread for more details on this.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
I concur. Its not necessary.Do we really need to start a new thread with every wreck, I think not.
I'm Dutch and am following the news. If you guys have any questions please do ask them.
First of al, I find it a tad tasteless to jump immediately to the question or even conclusions that AP was involved, that the driver fell asleep, or anything else. For all that's known now he might have had a heart attack or brain infarct, and been dead or dying before the actual accident occurred. A person just died, let's respect that and wait and see what investigations and autopsy tell us.
Secondly, Dutch firefighters are indeed aware and trained in how to deal with electric cars after setting up protocols starting in 2009. After Norway the Netherlands are the 2nd highest Tesla adoption market in Europe, so they are quite familiar with the Model S and have the schematics and relevant info in their rescue info tablets. In this case however they waited for a Tesla expert from the Tilburg factory / service center to advise them how to deal with this particular incident where:
a. The battery had been ruptured and torn in at least 2 pieces, with one half landing on the road and catching fire, which they managed to put out by covering it with dirt.
b. The driver was already confirmed dead, and they did not see any reason to put themselves at risk with half the battery still connected to the car somehow. Had the driver still been alive they would've risked their lives if needed to rescue him and wouldn't have taken 8 hours in total to get him out.
To my understanding only the part of the battery pack that was slung out unto the road caught fire, the car itself did not.
I'll try to keep you posted once I know more.
UPDATE: Telsa sent us the following statement late on Wednesday: We are working with the authorities to establish the facts of the incident and offer our full cooperation. Thus far, we can confirm from the car's logs that Autopilot was not engaged at any time during the drive cycle and that, consistent with the damage that was observed after the vehicle struck the tree, the vehicle was being driven more than 155 kph.
wait - did I not read the above well? It's known the S positively had AP? even though most old blue's were ordered prior to AP ?I found the location on Google Maps. The car would have been headed slightly north of due east. That's the direction in which the Sun would have been rising during early September. If the sky was clear and the Sun had recently risen, the driver or autopilot ....snip....
UPDATE: Telsa [sic] sent us the following statement late on Wednesday: We are working with the authorities to establish the facts of the incident and offer our full cooperation. Thus far, we can confirm from the car's logs that Autopilot was not engaged at any time during the drive cycle and that, consistent with the damage that was observed after the vehicle struck the tree, the vehicle was being driven more than 155 kph.
Secondly, Dutch firefighters are indeed aware and trained in how to deal with electric cars
...
a. The battery had been ruptured and torn in at least 2 pieces, with one half landing on the road and catching fire, which they managed to put out by covering it with dirt.
wait - did I not read the above well? It's known the S positively had AP? even though most old blue's were ordered prior to AP ?
This whole article seems to be overblown more than the 500' cliff fatality story.
Tesla Model S Plunges Off Cliff, Catches Fire, Fatality Reported
I don't recall everyone crawling out of the woodwork to speculate whether or not THAT MS had AP.
.
The first photos of the accident, which include parts of the battery still on fire, show that it was pre-dawn, I think the accident was about 6AM.
The news reports did say it was a 2013 Tesla, which was pre-Autopilot.
1. The Supercharger fire happened in Norway, not the Netherlands.I do have to question whether Dutch firefighters are correctly trained, as in both this case and the Supercharger fire a few months ago they did not douse the burning vehicle or battery with liberal amounts of water, per Tesla's first response guide. In both cases a concern over electrocution was noted. I'm wondering whether there is some ignorance at play here that "battery electric fire" + "water" = "electrocution" ... which is not the case at all.
Case in point - in the Mexico high speed drunk driving crash and subsequent fire a few years ago, a single firefighter extinguished the battery fire in 22 seconds by applying a constant stream of water to the fire, per Tesla's guide. No covering with dirt, no hosing down around the vehicle but letting it burn out as in the Netherlands cases.
I'm concerned there could be apprehension at play here on the part of firefighters to avoid applying water. This could cost someone their life in a future EV fire. I believe more training, better PR, and correction of this misconception in the media is warranted. If a lithium-ion battery is on fire, hose it down!