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I was involved in two fender benders. In both of them the other driver was at fault. In both of them the other drivers asked me to settle without insurance and

by natch 3y ago

I was involved in two fender benders. In both of them the other driver was at fault. In both of them the other drivers asked me to settle without insurance and said they would lie to the insurance company if I chose to go that route. One was a powerful looking executive type who worked at Apple. She said to my face that she would lie. She even said it on camera audio (I was openly taking a video of our cars and the damage) and on Apple property in the presence of her coworker with a security person / witness nearby. She’s lucky I’m not the vindictive type. I didn’t accept their offers to forego insurance, because I knew I had done nothing wrong and I had video footage from 8 cameras, because Tesla. And guess what. I would get counted, twice, in the statistics with the approach in the article, because I went through insurance when a lot of people would not have done so, had they been driving any other car. So... don’t believe this BS article. Also accidents should be counted per mile, not per person, and fault should be factored in imho. There are plenty of ways to slice data, but some are more misleading than others.

Reubend 3y ago
First of all, your point about accidents per mile seems fair. But your point about fault doesn't seem fair, because I can't think of any reason why Tesla drivers would be in more accidents despite being at fault less. A positive correlation between number of accidents and responsibility for those accidents seems obvious, while a negative correlation (or no correlation at all) seems extremely unlikely. Of course, there might be some minor variance related to geography or the type of vehicle, but it stands to reason that people who cause accidents often will be in more accidents than people who don't cause accidents often. Anecdotally, all of the EV drivers I know are driving fewer total miles than ICE drivers. If you can find a study with a good sample size that says EV drivers are driving more miles on average, I'd be very interested to see it. As it stands, I think that correcting the numbers for miles driven would make Tesla look worse here, not better.
- natch 3y ago
  fwiw it came that the underlying insurance industry study here was based on the driving records of drivers (including drivers who have never been in a Tesla) who were shopping for insurance quotes for a new or upcoming Tesla purchase. Useful anecdotal info: Most of the people I know who a) want Teslas, b) have the money, and c) haven’t bought yet, are just waiting to put a few more years on their current car so as to be wise their spending. With that in mind, it’s clear what is going on. People who want a Tesla and who total their current car suddenly have the excuse they needed to pull the trigger. And surprise surprise, having just totaled a car (setting aside who is at fault), they have an accident on their record. And that’s how you get skewed numbers. Because MANY people starting fresh with a new car want a Tesla. And some subset of those are only in their buying mode due to an accident.

by natch 3y ago

Reubend 3y ago

First of all, your point about accidents per mile seems fair. But your point about fault doesn't seem fair, because I can't think of any reason why Tesla drivers would be in more accidents despite being at fault less. A positive correlation between number of accidents and responsibility for those accidents seems obvious, while a negative correlation (or no correlation at all) seems extremely unlikely. Of course, there might be some minor variance related to geography or the type of vehicle, but it stands to reason that people who cause accidents often will be in more accidents than people who don't cause accidents often. Anecdotally, all of the EV drivers I know are driving fewer total miles than ICE drivers. If you can find a study with a good sample size that says EV drivers are driving more miles on average, I'd be very interested to see it. As it stands, I think that correcting the numbers for miles driven would make Tesla look worse here, not better.

natch 3y ago
fwiw it came that the underlying insurance industry study here was based on the driving records of drivers (including drivers who have never been in a Tesla) who were shopping for insurance quotes for a new or upcoming Tesla purchase. Useful anecdotal info: Most of the people I know who a) want Teslas, b) have the money, and c) haven’t bought yet, are just waiting to put a few more years on their current car so as to be wise their spending. With that in mind, it’s clear what is going on. People who want a Tesla and who total their current car suddenly have the excuse they needed to pull the trigger. And surprise surprise, having just totaled a car (setting aside who is at fault), they have an accident on their record. And that’s how you get skewed numbers. Because MANY people starting fresh with a new car want a Tesla. And some subset of those are only in their buying mode due to an accident.