Another Tesla crashes into guardrail in Montana

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HTSS_TR

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Another Tesla Model X driver and his passenger escaped injury in a one-vehicle accident near the small town of Whitehall, Mont., early Sunday morning, according to the state trooper who responded to the incident.

Trooper Jade Schope of the Montana Highway Patrol declined to identify either the driver or passenger, but he did say the driver said he activated the car's Autopilot driver assist system at the beginning of the trip.

"That's what he stated. I have no way of verifying whether it was or wasn't," Schope said. "He also stated that he was driving from Seattle to West Yellowstone, Mont."


Quote:
The accident occurred after midnight Sunday morning after the driver had gotten off I-90 near Whitehall, Schope said.

There was a sharp drop-off from the two-lane Highway 55 when the driver told Schope the car began veering to the right where it hit a wooden guardrail. The driver was able to stop the vehicle before it left the road completely.

"He lost the right front wheel and there was extensive damage to the front of the vehicle," Schope said.

This is the third case reported in the last two weeks involving a Tesla vehicle involved in a one-vehicle accident that may or may not have involved the Autopilot semi-autonomous feature.


http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/20...ntana/86956048/


If this accident was with Autopilot on then Tesla must recall/disable this feature for now, they should do a careful study of all previous accidents and try to figure out what was wrong, what are limitations and to find a solution.
 
The fact that anyone would wait until after going so far off track to engage themselves is inexplicable. An overreliance on automation seems excessively imprudent.
 
"He was driving from Seattle, WA to West Yellowstone, MT ... The accident occurred after midnight Sunday morning."

The distance from Seattle, WA to West Yellowstone, MT is 740 miles and the travel time is about 10 hours.

The driver and passenger(s) should stay in a hotel overnight. The driver was probably so tired after 10 hours journey, the reaction was probably not as quick as at the beginning of the trip.
 
Wonder if it had something to do with guard rail being made of wood. Most of the rails around here anyway are metal.
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
The driver and passenger(s) should stay in a hotel overnight. The driver was probably so tired after 10 hours journey, the reaction was probably not as quick as at the beginning of the trip.


As I've said previously, the more mental inputs that you take off the driver, the slower their reaction times, and re-engaging their manual skills.

Surely, per your previous comments, the driver should have been fully rested, and able to snap to attention faster than a guy who had his foot on the pedal for such a long time.
 
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
The driver and passenger(s) should stay in a hotel overnight. The driver was probably so tired after 10 hours journey, the reaction was probably not as quick as at the beginning of the trip.


As I've said previously, the more mental inputs that you take off the driver, the slower their reaction times, and re-engaging their manual skills.

Surely, per your previous comments, the driver should have been fully rested, and able to snap to attention faster than a guy who had his foot on the pedal for such a long time.


How did this electric car get so far from home? How long did this journey take?
 
Tesla has said multiple times that auto steer is not for roads that lack a center divider unless the software update was completed. They will have to fix this by warning the driver or disabling that feature while there is no center divider.
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
The driver and passenger(s) should stay in a hotel overnight. The driver was probably so tired after 10 hours journey, the reaction was probably not as quick as at the beginning of the trip.

Originally Posted By: Shannow
As I've said previously, the more mental inputs that you take off the driver, the slower their reaction times, and re-engaging their manual skills.

Surely, per your previous comments, the driver should have been fully rested, and able to snap to attention faster than a guy who had his foot on the pedal for such a long time.

As you see the distance, the driving time is about 10 hours but they need to stop every 3 hours(more or less) depended how fast they drive, to charge battery and rest. They would add about 2 hours to their driving time of 10 hours. So they started out at Seattle at around noon.

I don't know the driver age, I also don't know if he/she was the lone driver or they took turn one drove 2-3 hours then another took the steering wheel. But my guess is the model X is about $100k so the owner is most likely middle age or older, not likely late '20 early '30.

Older person sit in a vehicle for 10 hours will make him/her tired and their reaction will be much slower than when they started their trip.

A little OT; I went to San Diego last Saturday for meeting friends, I started early afternoon and the traffic was fairly heavy most of the distance of 85 miles, it took me almost 2 hours without using CC. The last 20-30 minutes my right foot was little numb, my reaction time between gas and brake pedal was at least 30-50% slower(I drove the E430 for this trip). I was barely able to stand up at destination after seating in the car for couple minutes, my first few steps was very slow. I didn't get back to normal speed for at least 10-15 minutes after I got out of the car.

My wife and I were there until 10 PM, on the way home the traffic was fairly light so I set CC at 78-79 MPH and stayed on the third lane from the left on the 4 lane I5. After 1 hour 10 minutes I came home fresh, I got off the car as soon as I had it in park, I walked normal without tired.

No, I didn't totally depend on CC, I looked around but mostly on the front and left side, I was a little slower than traffic so no one bother me and I didn't bother them, because I was in the almost emptied lane while the number 1 and 2 lanes were somewhat busy and about 3-5 MPH faster.

CC is absolutely helpful for long distance travels, as long as you know how to use it and know your surrounding and prepare to control the speed of your vehicle the instant traffic changed.

Remember, with your feet controlling the gas pedal it doesn't rest naturally so that it will get tired after a while. With CC you can have your feet rest naturally at the angle/position that is most comfortable and you can change its position/side/angle ... With your feet on gas pedal it can't changed, it must be at exactly the same position/angle all the time.

Originally Posted By: JamesBond
How did this electric car get so far from home? How long did this journey take?

The distance between starting and destination is 740 miles, Tesla model X 90D can travel up to 250-260 miles between charges, if the SUV is driven at less than 80-85 MPH.

Tesla has super charger stations along major interstate highways for long distance travel. The super charger can add 180-200 miles in 30 minutes, so the driver and passenger(s) can rest and/or have snack or dinner while their vehicles are charged up.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Why don't the people keep their hands on the wheel and drive the car ?


psst because that would take common sense.
 
Obviously the system is not ready for prime time. I bet there are people who think they can turn it on and take a nap, read the paper, put on makeup, or play with their cell phones, to name a few things. In order for it to be safe that must be taken into consideration. Then factor in wooden guard rails, white painted trucks, environmental issues, operator stupidity, etc., etc., etc. Clearly it's not.
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR


Remember, with your feet controlling the gas pedal it doesn't rest naturally so that it will get tired after a while. With CC you can have your feet rest naturally at the angle/position that is most comfortable and you can change its position/side/angle ... With your feet on gas pedal it can't changed, it must be at exactly the same position/angle all the time.



Bogus. Hills, change in speed zones, change in highways. Traffic that picks up and dies down. Weather conditions that change. Morons who cut you off.

Not all of America is flat, and a great deal of destinations are not in an up/down / east/west line--meaning one often changes highways.

Maybe you need a more comfortable car if you're worn out after a few hours drive?

*

Heh, I remember helping my parents move. They had a couple of Budget trucks, 24' diesel jobs. Just enough hp to get the job done, and they could smell a hill a mile away. No cruise.
frown.gif
Wound up switching feet on hills, as it bothered my right foot to drive with it planted down for the duration of the hill. Once at the top I'd switch back. Did about 12 hours of driving each day doing that. I managed.
 
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