4 ms·

what's unsafe about it compared to others?

titaniumtown 3y ago
The sharp angles, high ride height, "nearly impenetrable exoskeleton", and "Ultra-Hard 30X Cold-Rolled stainless steel structural skin". Cars are meant to crumple and protect those inside and outside the vehicle, not plow through them.
- theultdev 3y ago
  do you have a safety test reference where cybertruck falls short or is this speculation?
  - titaniumtown 3y ago
    It's common sense. Hardened stainless steel and pedestrians don't mix. The car has to be proven to be safe, not the other way around. There hasn't been any tests yet.
    - Retric 3y ago
      Hardened stainless steel tell you almost nothing without knowing the thickness and the geometry. At this point it’s slightly more than marketing puffery.
    - chrisco255 3y ago
      It's not common sense. Virtually all car and truck frames are made of steel. But honestly, the metal doesn't matter. Whether a pedestrian is hit by 3000 pounds of aluminum at 45 miles per hour or 3000 pounds of steel at 45 miles per hour, there is going to be a high chance of fatality. "An IIHS study found that vehicles equipped with automatic braking that detects pedestrians had a 27 percent lower rate of pedestrian crashes than vehicles without such technology." Teslas typically have the most advanced crash avoidance systems on the market. Virtually all Teslas have 5 star safety ratings in crashes, both in Europe and U.S. [1] [1] https://www.tesla.com/blog/model-s-receives-5-star-euro-ncap-safety-rating https://www.tesla.com/blog/model-s-receives-5-star-euro-ncap...
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- chrisco255 3y ago
  Teslas are known for their very high crash safety ratings. I highly doubt the Cybertruck will be much different. Some cars are designed to crumple when it makes sense for crash safety. Crumple zones primarily affect the passengers inside the vehicle, it doesn't change the amount of energy delivered to the point of impact, they simply extend the amount of time it takes to dissipate the energy. But higher strength steel is often better for this purpose, and reduces the length that a crumple zone needs to be, as is common for passenger vans. SUVs, by the way, (which the Cybertruck more closely resembles than a traditional truck), are safer in accidents than passenger cars, by nearly a factor of 8 [1][2]. [1] https://www.carlsonattorneys.com/news-and-update/10-dangerous-vehicles https://www.carlsonattorneys.com/news-and-update/10-dangerou... [2] https://www.businessinsider.com/most-dangerous-vehicles-small-cars-death-fatalities-fatal-crash-ratings-2020-6 https://www.businessinsider.com/most-dangerous-vehicles-smal... [1] https://www.dlawgroup.com/top-safest-most-dangerous-cars-2022/ https://www.dlawgroup.com/top-safest-most-dangerous-cars-202...
  - footy 3y ago
    they're talking about safety for people outside the vehicle https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/14/business/boxy-trucks-suvs-pedestrian-deaths/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/14/business/boxy-trucks-suvs-ped...
    - chrisco255 3y ago
      The net death rates of people killed by small cars is still higher overall than SUVs and light trucks. That being said, even the article mentions the primary factor in pedestrian deaths is the shape of the hood and the height of the hood: "Even when the hood isn’t that high, a boxy front-end — with a grille that’s nearly vertical and a hood that goes almost straight out from the windshield — is more likely to cause death or serious injury to a pedestrian. In general, vehicles with box-shaped front ends, even when they’re only medium height, are roughly 26% more likely to kill a pedestrian, according to the IIHS." Seems like it's at least partly a visibility issue (I'm not convinced that height matters as much as the angle a driver sits at from within the truck to be able to see what's in front of it), also the odds of getting slammed under the vehicle rather than rolled over the top of it. That being said, none of these apply to the Cybertruck, which has an almost entirely sloped frontend with a low hood height and massive windshields for visibility paired with probably the most advanced pedestrian detection systems on the market.
- bryanlarsen 3y ago
  The sharp angles should make the Cybertruck significantly more safe to pedestrians than an F-150. When a pedestrian gets hit by a car, it takes out their legs and they bounce on the hood. When a pedestrian gets hit by a large truck, they take the full impact instantaneously due to the large blunt front, and then fall on the ground and get run over. The car collision has much higher survival rates. The Cybertruck with it's lack of broad flat front, should behave more like a car in a pedestrian collision.
- fiftyfifty 3y ago
  The front of the Cybertruck is actually fairly rounded and has a fairly normal bumper (and I would assume crumple zone) just like any other Tesla. I don't think the front of the Cybertruck is any worse than any other truck or SUV as far as a collisions go. The ride height is a non-issue, the Cybertruck has air suspension, so while it can have as much as 14" of clearance for off-road for day to day driving it is much lower than that, which is, I assume, how Tesla is going to eke out decent range numbers with it. That leaves the back of the Cybertruck, which is indeed full of sharp angles, but mostly up high. It does have a rear bumper that looks functional but it is hard not to think that the sharp angles on the back wouldn't do some serious damage if rear-ended or someone where to back into a pedestrian. It's a case where hopefully the NHTSA did their due diligence.

The sharp angles, high ride height, "nearly impenetrable exoskeleton", and "Ultra-Hard 30X Cold-Rolled stainless steel structural skin". Cars are meant to crumple and protect those inside and outside the vehicle, not plow through them.

theultdev 3y ago
do you have a safety test reference where cybertruck falls short or is this speculation?
- titaniumtown 3y ago
  It's common sense. Hardened stainless steel and pedestrians don't mix. The car has to be proven to be safe, not the other way around. There hasn't been any tests yet.
  - Retric 3y ago
    Hardened stainless steel tell you almost nothing without knowing the thickness and the geometry. At this point it’s slightly more than marketing puffery.
  - chrisco255 3y ago
    It's not common sense. Virtually all car and truck frames are made of steel. But honestly, the metal doesn't matter. Whether a pedestrian is hit by 3000 pounds of aluminum at 45 miles per hour or 3000 pounds of steel at 45 miles per hour, there is going to be a high chance of fatality. "An IIHS study found that vehicles equipped with automatic braking that detects pedestrians had a 27 percent lower rate of pedestrian crashes than vehicles without such technology." Teslas typically have the most advanced crash avoidance systems on the market. Virtually all Teslas have 5 star safety ratings in crashes, both in Europe and U.S. [1] [1] https://www.tesla.com/blog/model-s-receives-5-star-euro-ncap-safety-rating https://www.tesla.com/blog/model-s-receives-5-star-euro-ncap...
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
chrisco255 3y ago
Teslas are known for their very high crash safety ratings. I highly doubt the Cybertruck will be much different. Some cars are designed to crumple when it makes sense for crash safety. Crumple zones primarily affect the passengers inside the vehicle, it doesn't change the amount of energy delivered to the point of impact, they simply extend the amount of time it takes to dissipate the energy. But higher strength steel is often better for this purpose, and reduces the length that a crumple zone needs to be, as is common for passenger vans. SUVs, by the way, (which the Cybertruck more closely resembles than a traditional truck), are safer in accidents than passenger cars, by nearly a factor of 8 [1][2]. [1] https://www.carlsonattorneys.com/news-and-update/10-dangerous-vehicles https://www.carlsonattorneys.com/news-and-update/10-dangerou... [2] https://www.businessinsider.com/most-dangerous-vehicles-small-cars-death-fatalities-fatal-crash-ratings-2020-6 https://www.businessinsider.com/most-dangerous-vehicles-smal... [1] https://www.dlawgroup.com/top-safest-most-dangerous-cars-2022/ https://www.dlawgroup.com/top-safest-most-dangerous-cars-202...
- footy 3y ago
  they're talking about safety for people outside the vehicle https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/14/business/boxy-trucks-suvs-pedestrian-deaths/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/14/business/boxy-trucks-suvs-ped...
  - chrisco255 3y ago
    The net death rates of people killed by small cars is still higher overall than SUVs and light trucks. That being said, even the article mentions the primary factor in pedestrian deaths is the shape of the hood and the height of the hood: "Even when the hood isn’t that high, a boxy front-end — with a grille that’s nearly vertical and a hood that goes almost straight out from the windshield — is more likely to cause death or serious injury to a pedestrian. In general, vehicles with box-shaped front ends, even when they’re only medium height, are roughly 26% more likely to kill a pedestrian, according to the IIHS." Seems like it's at least partly a visibility issue (I'm not convinced that height matters as much as the angle a driver sits at from within the truck to be able to see what's in front of it), also the odds of getting slammed under the vehicle rather than rolled over the top of it. That being said, none of these apply to the Cybertruck, which has an almost entirely sloped frontend with a low hood height and massive windshields for visibility paired with probably the most advanced pedestrian detection systems on the market.
bryanlarsen 3y ago
The sharp angles should make the Cybertruck significantly more safe to pedestrians than an F-150. When a pedestrian gets hit by a car, it takes out their legs and they bounce on the hood. When a pedestrian gets hit by a large truck, they take the full impact instantaneously due to the large blunt front, and then fall on the ground and get run over. The car collision has much higher survival rates. The Cybertruck with it's lack of broad flat front, should behave more like a car in a pedestrian collision.
fiftyfifty 3y ago
The front of the Cybertruck is actually fairly rounded and has a fairly normal bumper (and I would assume crumple zone) just like any other Tesla. I don't think the front of the Cybertruck is any worse than any other truck or SUV as far as a collisions go. The ride height is a non-issue, the Cybertruck has air suspension, so while it can have as much as 14" of clearance for off-road for day to day driving it is much lower than that, which is, I assume, how Tesla is going to eke out decent range numbers with it. That leaves the back of the Cybertruck, which is indeed full of sharp angles, but mostly up high. It does have a rear bumper that looks functional but it is hard not to think that the sharp angles on the back wouldn't do some serious damage if rear-ended or someone where to back into a pedestrian. It's a case where hopefully the NHTSA did their due diligence.