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How does this happen? Did the driver not realize the vehicle was exiting at a rest stop and not slowing down? Was the driver asleep and relying on autopilot? Di

How does this happen? Did the driver not realize the vehicle was exiting at a rest stop and not slowing down? Was the driver asleep and relying on autopilot? Did the driver try to stop the car but it malfunctioned? Do these type of accidents happen much with non-Tesla vehicles? It could just be media reporting bias, or it could be that people don't slam into parked semi trucks on a regular basis.

CodeWriter23 4y ago
One of my colleagues, a young and smart man 100% relies on Auto Pilot for a certain routine 400+ mile commute between cities. We have talked to him about it, his experience of never seeing it fail IMO creates a false sense of security in relation to Auto Pilot for him. I doubt he is alone in this kind of thinking.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- gnicholas 4y ago
  I’ve seen this also. Seeing how my smart, tech-savvy friend reacted to having a Tesla made me less likely to get one.
- ihateolives 4y ago
  > 400+ mile commute How is that even a commute anymore? In Europe that would be cross-country roadtrip.
  - hey2022 4y ago
    That’s about the same distance as SF to LA. Not a daily commute, but some people do drive this far weekly.
  - CodeWriter23 4y ago
    It’s once every 1-2 weeks. Sorry I thought “routine” would convey “periodic” back in that moment.
- Brian_K_White 4y ago
  I just say my house never burned down in my entire life either, that's why it's ok to leave flames unattended and probably we should even disband that waste of money local fire department whose services I have never needed once.
hey2022 4y ago
Or could be that similar accidents happen fairly frequently with other cars but links are not posted to HN because they won’t result in a discussion. Tesla posts, on the other hand, lead to a never ending heated criticism.
- PainfullyNormal 4y ago
  Rear-end collisions are the most frequent type of collisions. One of the most effective safety features added in the last 30 years is the third rear brake light that's mounted up in the rear view window. I don't know why it isn't also a requirement for semi trucks.
  - gnicholas 4y ago
    The bottom edge of a semi is likely at the same height as the third brake light of many sedans, if not higher. Also, it wouldn’t have helped here, where the semi was parked.
- iasay 4y ago
  Most of the other cars tend not to have systems which are marketed at preventing this. I mean I can drive through a wall with my car quite happily lol
  - hey2022 4y ago
    We don’t know from the article whether AutoPilot was engaged. So at this point it’s just an (emotional) speculation.
    - ceejayoz 4y ago
      Doesn’t matter; with autopilot off, it’s still supposed to have automatic emergency braking. https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_us/GUID-8EA7EF10-7D27-42AC-A31A-96BCE5BC0A85.html#CONCEPT_E2T_MSQ_34 https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_us/GUID-8EA7EF1... (As do most modern higher-end cars now.)
jcranmer 4y ago
Judging from the photo in the article, the truck was parked in a parking space, and somebody... just pulled into the space without realizing the truck was there? It's possible that the truck was moved to its position in the photo subsequent to the accident and that the accident occurred elsewhere, but from the way the car is embedded in the truck, I am disinclined to believe that. Assuming that the photo depicts the location correctly, my first guess is that an automatic parking feature is involved, because I would be surprised that any driver--much less one with a passenger in the front seat--would so completely miss the fact that an eighteen-wheeler truck is in the parking space while attempting to park there, and continue to miss it for so long to embed the car that deep underneath.
- teilo 4y ago
  There is no way this was automatic parking. The only way for that to happen is if the Tesla hit it at speed. This was a rest area, where off ramps lead directly into parking lots where trucks are parked in rows in the middle of the lot. It was almost certainly the result of an inattentive driver plowing into the truck from the off ramp.
ForeverAngle 4y ago
Everything happens in an instant.
homeland221 4y ago

CodeWriter23 4y ago

One of my colleagues, a young and smart man 100% relies on Auto Pilot for a certain routine 400+ mile commute between cities. We have talked to him about it, his experience of never seeing it fail IMO creates a false sense of security in relation to Auto Pilot for him. I doubt he is alone in this kind of thinking.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
gnicholas 4y ago
I’ve seen this also. Seeing how my smart, tech-savvy friend reacted to having a Tesla made me less likely to get one.
ihateolives 4y ago
> 400+ mile commute How is that even a commute anymore? In Europe that would be cross-country roadtrip.
- hey2022 4y ago
  That’s about the same distance as SF to LA. Not a daily commute, but some people do drive this far weekly.
- CodeWriter23 4y ago
  It’s once every 1-2 weeks. Sorry I thought “routine” would convey “periodic” back in that moment.
Brian_K_White 4y ago
I just say my house never burned down in my entire life either, that's why it's ok to leave flames unattended and probably we should even disband that waste of money local fire department whose services I have never needed once.

hey2022 4y ago

Or could be that similar accidents happen fairly frequently with other cars but links are not posted to HN because they won’t result in a discussion. Tesla posts, on the other hand, lead to a never ending heated criticism.

PainfullyNormal 4y ago
Rear-end collisions are the most frequent type of collisions. One of the most effective safety features added in the last 30 years is the third rear brake light that's mounted up in the rear view window. I don't know why it isn't also a requirement for semi trucks.
- gnicholas 4y ago
  The bottom edge of a semi is likely at the same height as the third brake light of many sedans, if not higher. Also, it wouldn’t have helped here, where the semi was parked.
iasay 4y ago
Most of the other cars tend not to have systems which are marketed at preventing this. I mean I can drive through a wall with my car quite happily lol
- hey2022 4y ago
  We don’t know from the article whether AutoPilot was engaged. So at this point it’s just an (emotional) speculation.
  - ceejayoz 4y ago
    Doesn’t matter; with autopilot off, it’s still supposed to have automatic emergency braking. https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_us/GUID-8EA7EF10-7D27-42AC-A31A-96BCE5BC0A85.html#CONCEPT_E2T_MSQ_34 https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_us/GUID-8EA7EF1... (As do most modern higher-end cars now.)

jcranmer 4y ago

Judging from the photo in the article, the truck was parked in a parking space, and somebody... just pulled into the space without realizing the truck was there? It's possible that the truck was moved to its position in the photo subsequent to the accident and that the accident occurred elsewhere, but from the way the car is embedded in the truck, I am disinclined to believe that. Assuming that the photo depicts the location correctly, my first guess is that an automatic parking feature is involved, because I would be surprised that any driver--much less one with a passenger in the front seat--would so completely miss the fact that an eighteen-wheeler truck is in the parking space while attempting to park there, and continue to miss it for so long to embed the car that deep underneath.

teilo 4y ago
There is no way this was automatic parking. The only way for that to happen is if the Tesla hit it at speed. This was a rest area, where off ramps lead directly into parking lots where trucks are parked in rows in the middle of the lot. It was almost certainly the result of an inattentive driver plowing into the truck from the off ramp.

ForeverAngle 4y ago

Everything happens in an instant.

homeland221 4y ago