Ugh. Another Model S fire - 2013-11-06

[epley]

By the way. Here on TMC, Dr Computer, Augieko, Davecolone0606, and VFX (myself) have all run over SERIOUSLY large and dangerous steel road debris. No injuries, no fires, damaged but still working cars and while Augie had a pack penetration it just left him with him with a reduced range Tesla.

This really needs to be put front and center. I think the media needs to know that not every Model S that hits road debris catches on fire! I wonder if the Tesla media people would be interested?

 

[Alpha]

Wow, looks like less than 1 second to react! If the post had landed just a foot or so to the left, the driver would have been impaled!

Very scary

 

[swon]

Could you, or someone, post links to all of these? Clearly this thread is quite high profile to the media and investigators, and I think examples of debris/punctures where there was no fire would be a significant counterpoint to the myth that "all underbelly damage will cause fires".

(I see the Augie one posted, but if someone has a bit of time to put them all in one post it would make it that much easier for potential readers to reference)

I don't have links to those in particular, but these may be of some use:

Giant thread on Model S accident pictures

Front-end collision picture

Head-on collision pictures

Front-end vs. Utility Pole

NHTSA front-end crash

Unless the accident is severe enough to puncture the battery just right, I don't see much of a problem after browsing through the Tesla accident pictures.

 

[vfx]

Wow, looks like less than 1 second to react! If the post had landed just a foot or so to the left, the driver would have been impaled!

View attachment 35087

Very scary

Wow!

This is pretty much what happened to me. The steel pipe was launched at us but being heavy (i'd guess 80 pounds) it stayed low. One good bounce and our windshield would be toast too.

 

[FluxCap]

Wow!

This is pretty much what happened to me. The steel pipe was launched at us but being heavy (i'd guess 80 pounds) it stayed low. One good bounce and our windshield would be toast too.

Terrifying picture, but mostly terrifying to me because I would not have been following that guy so closely at that speed. Do you guys not agree that this was way too close to safely follow someone at that speed?

 

[swon]

Holy crap that video was scary! You've gotta wonder why they were filming, too!

I'm going to label this link "NSFW" due to the violence of the car accidents, but if you ever want to appreciate the 5-star safety rating on your Model S and America's IIHS/NHTSA safety standards, just watch some of the dashcam captures of car wrecks in Russia:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMvnuZbHRbcBgNFHjwvJuQg/videos

As one reviewer put it, "I wouldn't feel safe driving in Mother Russia in anything less than a M1 Abrams"

 

[vfx]

.... I don't think the fact that there are unavoidable accidents/collisions means that all accidents/collisions are unavoidable, or that driver error is immaterial to the discussion -- do you?
....

Of course not. You seemed to be generalizing as to fault so i wanted to get in a nerd reference in there.

 

[Alpha]

Can anyone recommend a good dash cam?

 

[teslasguy]

Can anyone recommend a good dash cam?

Blackvue DRW500 32gb sold on Amazon. Several on this forum have installed them including me.

 

[FluxCap]

Can anyone recommend a good dash cam?

MHD Action Camera - Monoprice.com

 

[swon]

Terrifying picture, but mostly terrifying to me because I would not have been following that guy so closely at that speed. Do you guys not agree that this was way too close to safely follow someone at that speed?

Look at the speed & angle of the projectile - if he were back any further, his passenger wouldn't have a head. He could have been back several more car lengths and that thing probably still would have flown through his windshield! Leaving room doesn't always mean that you'll be safe, but it does give you better statistics in general.

 

[JST]

I don't have links to those in particular, but these may be of some use:


Front-end vs. Utility Pole

Also in Murfeesboro? What's going on down there? It's like some sort of Tesla abattoir. A Teslabattoir, if you will.

EDIT: Also, reading that article is awesome, because I love how the reporter goes into great detail about not only the car, its features, and its 5 star safety rating, but also the SCADA system that the utility used to restore power quickly.

 

[swon]

Blackvue DRW500 32gb sold on Amazon. Several on this forum have installed them including me.

Going to second Blackview. They have a 2-channel HD model out now that has a camera on the front & rear: (a camera is pointed backwards to capture if someone rear-ends you)

http://www.blackvue.com/en/contents/sub1.asp?idx=17

Plus plenty of other great features like a super capacitor acting as a battery backup, audio recording, GPS stamping, G-sensor recording, smartphone & computer software (iPhone/Android/PC/Mac), parking mode to record if someone bumps your car, etc. Not cheap but nice to have!

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

As a fellow TMCer, a stock holder and a car nut I think the automotive community, bloggers, investors and the general public have all gone overboard with their assessment of the S and the recent fires. Keep in mind that crash testing did not flesh out any issues with battery fires. We know that TM has an issue on its hands and i think the time is now that we move on to offering solutions.

Agree with this completely. The Model S may or may not have an Achilles' Heel w.r.t. protection for the battery pack from road debris. Color me overly dramatic, but, for the sake of keeping Tesla's momentum going - if not for pure survival - it behooves Tesla to do something about protecting the pack further. The NHTSA crash tests did not obviously include anything that hit the battery pack from the bottom directly and all side/front crash tests were dealt with successfully courtesy the steel frame for the pack.

In my conversations with folks (some understanding ones and others not) about the car now, some of the smugness is gone and a slight bit of embarrassment is setting in.

I'm watching the road like a hawk now to avoid any debris, big or small, having run over a narrow but long piece of wood with my right wheels right around the time of the Kent, WA fire. As an owner and a stockholder, I'd feel comforted by positive action by Tesla; all the statistics and comparisons with ICEs dealing with road debris may be beside the point at this stage.

 

[NigelM]

I'm going to label this link "NSFW" due to the violence of the car accidents, but if you ever want to appreciate the 5-star safety rating on your Model S and America's IIHS/NHTSA safety standards, just watch some of the dashcam captures of car wrecks in Russia:
As one reviewer put it, "I wouldn't feel safe driving in Mother Russia in anything less than a M1 Abrams"

There's a lot of un-roadworthy cars in Russia, and some crazy driving, but overall I'm not certain that it's so much worse than the U.S. The main reason all these crashes are shown on Youtube etc is because dashcams are so common in Russia (think corrupt policing and man people without insurance and you'll understand why). Quite frankly, I'm amazed almost every day when I see trucks with unsafe loads or folks talking on the phone, texting, applying make-up, simultaneously drinking coffee and smoking etc, all here in the U.S.

 

[swon]

Agree with this completely. The Model S may or may not have an Achilles' Heel w.r.t. protection for the battery pack from road debris. Color me overly dramatic, but, for the sake of keeping Tesla's momentum going - if not for pure survival - it behooves Tesla to do something about protecting the pack further. The NHTSA crash tests did not obviously include anything that hit the battery pack from the bottom directly and all side/front crash tests were dealt with successfully courtesy the steel frame for the pack.

In my conversations with folks (some understanding ones and others not) about the car now, some of the smugness is gone and a slight bit of embarrassment is setting in.

I'm watching the road like a hawk now to avoid any debris, big or small, having run over a narrow but long piece of wood with my right wheels right around the time of the Kent, WA fire. As an owner and a stockholder, I'd feel comforted by positive action by Tesla; all the statistics and comparisons with ICEs dealing with road debris may be beside the point at this stage.

MG has a novel solution:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51584vty94L._SY300_.jpg

New option as part of the Tesla winter package??

 

[K5ING]

Also in Murfeesboro? What's going on down there? It's like some sort of Tesla abattoir. A Teslabattoir, if you will.

EDIT: Also, reading that article is awesome, because I love how the reporter goes into great detail about not only the car, its features, and its 5 star safety rating, but also the SCADA system that the utility used to restore power quickly.

I don't know the area very well, but I read somewhere that this latest fire happened only about 4 miles from where the Nissan Leaf is made. Hmmmm....

 

[Andrew]

I've read every post in this thread so far (including most of those removed to snippiess -- thanks Nigel for taking care of that!), and I think the one thing we all can agree on is that Tesla now has a PR problem on their hands.

(Heck, after the first fire, they had a PR problem. I experienced that firsthand when I was teased by an acquaintance a week after it happened: "Just don't drive over anything on your way home!")

So how about instead of nitpicking what has happened, and making only semi-informed comments and speculations, we be proactive and positive as a community? Let's focus on what we can actually do to help improve Tesla PR. I propose:

1. We make a separate thread, or better yet, a separate website*, to showcase all of the Model S crashes that have happened but have not caused fires. Pictures of the crashes, and details of what happened, and how the occupants of the vehicles were not permanently harmed. We can start with swon's list (below.)

2. We make our mantra: "No deaths, no permanent injuries." Or maybe, "All three drivers walked away." After all, catching fire is one thing, walking away is another. And then we repeat that over and over again until the media can't help but repeat it as well.


* for the website, how about just a free Tumblr site, with a creative name, like "teslacrasheswithoutfires.tumblr.com" -- something the media will pick up and report on in-and-of-itself.

I don't have links to those in particular, but these may be of some use:

Giant thread on Model S accident pictures

Front-end collision picture

Head-on collision pictures

Front-end vs. Utility Pole

NHTSA front-end crash

Unless the accident is severe enough to puncture the battery just right, I don't see much of a problem after browsing through the Tesla accident pictures.

 

[markwj]

I agree. I also have 10+ years as a circuit course racer. I have both hit and avoided debris multiple times on the road. I don't think the fact that there are unavoidable accidents/collisions means that all accidents/collisions are unavoidable, or that driver error is immaterial to the discussion -- do you?

Ok, so how does this equate to your prior statement:

I'm not saying a vehicle fire is a desirable outcome of crashing, but anyone who is incapable of braking or avoiding stationary road debris in the course of normal driving shouldn't have a license, or should at least pay higher insurance premiums to subsidize my superior driving skill.

No one here knows what happened in these accidents, and calling driver error (at least in the two road debris fires) at this stage is not reasonable.

 

[Chris TX]

Solution?

Step1: Enjoy driving your Model S
Step2: Don't drive too close to the car in front of you
Step3: Keep your eyes on the road for foreign objects
Step4: Don't be afraid to take evasive action. The Model S is very responsive. Learn its capabilities.
Step5: Make it to your destination without a punctured battery

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Until a cowcatcher or quick lifting mechanism is utilized for the S, you've got to do the steps above.