More Theories On Why Teslas Have The Highest Fatality Rate – CleanTechnica

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I was surprised the other day to see that Tesla drivers were more likely to be in fatal car crashes than drivers of any other auto brand. The results are based on US data, but there is no way to split out the numbers to know what caused the fatal car crashes. I quickly came to the conclusion that the most likely reason Tesla drivers were involved in more fatal crashes than others (per billion miles driven) is Tesla vehicles have long been marketed as super quick, are super quick, and probably get driven more aggressively/dangerously. However, some readers had different ideas.

One response in particular triggered the idea of a followup article, but there were a couple of others I’ll include as well.

First of all, here’s the long comment from Larry Evans that included factors I was not aware of or had never considered:

“While blaming the drivers is easy, and no doubt is a major contributor, it typically isn’t that simple. I think a lot of it comes down to the theoretical safety vs. actual safety.

“While US safety inspections are relatively lax (Texas is eliminating them), Germany takes them seriously. Teslas fail German TUV safety inspections more than any other vehicle. Largely due to suspension and brake issues. So while these components are likely good in theory, execution leaves something to be desired.

“Also consider failure mode and secondary impacts. Sheet metal tends to fail by bending. Castings and glass tend to fail by cracking. Think about an egg (Crack failure mode) and a Beer can (Bend failure mode). An egg will actually be stronger than an empty beer can on its side. When it cracks, it will absorb a lot of energy. But take than bent beer can and cracked egg and hit them again… many serious crashes involve multiple impacts. What works well in a single safety test might not perform as well in an actual crash.

“And there are other choices, like replacing the ‘firewall’ with a sheet of plastic. It might not make a difference in a controlled crash test, but what about in the real world?

“And while fires likely are not the primary cause of death, there are also choices like ternary vs. LFP that could reduce fatalities somewhat if the US product mix switched over…

“And moving everything to a touch screen makes people take their eyes off the road. Removing stalks and making other driver controlls more difficult to use can’t help either…

“And the actual effect of ADAS has yet to be determined…

“Overall, the net result is undoubtedly due to many factors. I wouldn’t consider Tesla vehicles completely unsafe. Drivers likely have a lot to do with it. But I wouldn’t consider safety an overwhelming factor in favor of buying a Tesla.”

All good points. I still think “need for speed” Tesla marketing and Tesla performance are probably the biggest factors, along with one of the demographics most attracted to Teslas — young men. Though, as Larry says, “the net result is undoubtedly due to many factors.”

Maarten Vinkhuyzen made another very good point. “There are numerous studies that explain why seat-belts, air-bags, and ABS are not as effective as they should be. The main conclusion is that it makes the drivers feel safe. This feeling allows them a riskier driving style. This is likely one of the reasons very safe cars can still end up in the top (20?) of this list.” Great point! Combine that feeling of invincibility with a desire to test out the torque, and … boom.

User freedomev added, “Distraction and power are the biggest problems here.

“The thing with FSD as it gets better, drivers will become more distracted depending on it, until it kills them.

“The center touch screen takes too much time of your eyes off the road.

“Hertz could have solved a lot of problems by turning the power down to 100kw as no need for more and a video showing how EVs work, charge.”

Backing up some of the points above in his own words, here’s a series of theories from Pitounet:

“Maybe Tesla drivers spend too much time fiddling with the touch screen and/or playing with FSD? Maybe they get overconfident because they have been fed by false propaganda. Maybe Tesla promotes a poor safety culture? The interaction I have on forums with Tesla drivers say that many have no notion whatsoever about what it takes to drive safely and some even brag their unsafe driving practices or seem to think everyone who doesn’t do like them is a liar.”

There were plenty of other great comments included there. The thread is worth a read. But I think these four pull together several other possibilities that deserved attention in addition to the one I started with.

The key here from a driver’s perspective is to be safe. Don’t go crazy driving your Tesla like you’re in a James Bond movie. You’re not. Don’t assume you’ll be fine driving a little more dangerously because you’re driving the safest car on the planet, with magic in the wheels. Don’t assume driver-assist tech will do everything perfectly. Don’t get distracted with things on the touchscreen (I know, I’m guilty of this one) while driving. Be cool, drive safely.

To close, I actually do have two more comments. One is from commenter Davids: “My brother with 400,000+ miles of bicycle DRIVING, not pedestrian riding, finally was hit by a car. It was a Tesla entering the road to travel the opposite direction from a storefront parking spot probably accelerating for space to merge ahead of an oncoming car.” Don’t be that guy.

And then from Des Pudels Kern: “Tesla anecdote… We tend to drive (now) for smoothness and efficiency, but when we first had our ‘19 Model 3 I almost clipped a truck I was overtaking on a 2 lane highway. I punched it in the passing zone and was not ready for that acceleration and came within maybe 18” of the truck’s left rear corner. Thankfully I haven’t suffered any consequences for Tesla leadfoot stupidity… yet.” I can understand that. Tesla cars are quick, and not just from a standstill. It can take some time to get used to how powerful a Tesla is. I was really not surprised at all to read that Hertz customers renting Teslas were more likely to get into accidents.

Drive safe out there, everyone. It seems to be an especially accident-heavy time of year out there, at least here in Florida. I saw three accidents on the road just yesterday! Keep your eyes on the road and don’t get too impatient or punchy doing your holiday shopping.