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Unfortunately the article doesn't mention anything about how common it is for human drivers to crash into first responder vehicles during the night. I'm not try

by dotdi 5y ago

Unfortunately the article doesn't mention anything about how common it is for human drivers to crash into first responder vehicles during the night. I'm not trying to downplay these cases, as hitting emergency vehicles is very bad indeed, yet ~4 such crashes per year might be in the same ballpark or even better than "unassisted" drivers that cause such crashes.

toomuchtodo 5y ago
Also doesn’t mention that this is an inherent limitation in TACC+ systems, and is specifically called out as such in Volvo, BMW, and Cadillac vehicle manuals as a limitation. Much ado about nothing unless regulators are going to outlaw radar based adaptive cruise control (which, of course, they’re not).
salawat 5y ago
frankly, it's hard to even crash into an emerfency in my opinion while actually driving snd paying attention given tgeir lights have gotten so darn bright it's damn near blinding. frankly, I have to slow to a crawl not out of rubbernecking fascination, butout of self preservation to adapt to the dang lighting searing my retinas at night. now running into unlit emergency vehicles? still think tgat's rather difficult sans inebriation or sleep dep.
- lacksconfidence 5y ago
  the lights are actually what cause the crash. Some drivers just drive straight into the lights. This is part of why police, at least around here, have particular protocols around how far they stop behind a car, and never standing between the cop car and the car they stopped.
josefx 5y ago
Might be around 98 a year if this[1] is the correct list. Edit: I think the page count at the bottom of that list is off, it seems to repeat the last page so it might be less. [1]https://www.respondersafety.com/news/struck-by-incidents/?date=2020&state=All&organization-type=All https://www.respondersafety.com/news/struck-by-incidents/?da...
- onlyrealcuzzo 5y ago
  Considering that less than 0.3% of cars in the US are Teslas and that - I would guess - less than 10% of them are using autopilot at any given time - they are likely 100s of times more likely to hit first responders.
btbuildem 5y ago
Indeed! I was looking for the same comparison. In Canada the Highway Act states that you must move over (change lanes) for stopped emergency vehicles. It seems to solve that problem gracefully, leaving an empty lane between the stopped vehicles and traffic.

by dotdi 5y ago

toomuchtodo 5y ago

Also doesn’t mention that this is an inherent limitation in TACC+ systems, and is specifically called out as such in Volvo, BMW, and Cadillac vehicle manuals as a limitation. Much ado about nothing unless regulators are going to outlaw radar based adaptive cruise control (which, of course, they’re not).

salawat 5y ago

frankly, it's hard to even crash into an emerfency in my opinion while actually driving snd paying attention given tgeir lights have gotten so darn bright it's damn near blinding. frankly, I have to slow to a crawl not out of rubbernecking fascination, butout of self preservation to adapt to the dang lighting searing my retinas at night. now running into unlit emergency vehicles? still think tgat's rather difficult sans inebriation or sleep dep.

lacksconfidence 5y ago
the lights are actually what cause the crash. Some drivers just drive straight into the lights. This is part of why police, at least around here, have particular protocols around how far they stop behind a car, and never standing between the cop car and the car they stopped.

josefx 5y ago

Might be around 98 a year if this[1] is the correct list. Edit: I think the page count at the bottom of that list is off, it seems to repeat the last page so it might be less. [1]https://www.respondersafety.com/news/struck-by-incidents/?date=2020&state=All&organization-type=All https://www.respondersafety.com/news/struck-by-incidents/?da...

onlyrealcuzzo 5y ago
Considering that less than 0.3% of cars in the US are Teslas and that - I would guess - less than 10% of them are using autopilot at any given time - they are likely 100s of times more likely to hit first responders.

btbuildem 5y ago

Indeed! I was looking for the same comparison. In Canada the Highway Act states that you must move over (change lanes) for stopped emergency vehicles. It seems to solve that problem gracefully, leaving an empty lane between the stopped vehicles and traffic.