Driverless Tesla crashes; kills both occupants; burns for four hours

**Beetlegeuse** · 04-19-2021, 08:35 AM

Yet more proof that there's an uncommon lot of idiots buying Teslas. Still, it was nice of them to leave forensic evidence that no one was at the controls.

But this one is more noteworthy because firefighters needed four hours and 23,000 gallons of water to put out the car's burning batteries, even after calling Tesla for firefighting support. Which shows they were unequipped (and untrained?) to put out an electrical fire of this scale. And if the crash hadn't killed the passengers, the fire would have.

‘No one was driving the car’: 2 men dead after fiery Tesla crash in Spring, officials say

HOUSTON – Two men are dead after a Tesla traveling in Spring crashed into a tree and no one was driving the vehicle, officials say.

The crash happened at 11:25 p.m. in the Carlton Woods subdivision near The Woodlands. The car burst into flames after hitting a tree near 18 Hammock Dunes Place.

Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman told KPRC 2 that the investigation showed “no one was driving” the fully-electric 2019 Tesla when the accident happened. There was a person in the passenger seat of the front of the car and in the rear passenger seat of the car.

Herman said authorities believe no one else was in the car and that it burst into flames immediately. He said it he believes it wasn’t being driven by a human.

Harris County Constable Precinct 4 deputies said the vehicle was traveling at a high speed when it failed to negotiate a cul-de-sac turn, ran off the road and hit the tree....

More story, photos and a video at the source website.

**Hughinn** · 04-19-2021, 08:38 AM

I heard this on the radio last night at work.

They never said why, but I was thinking that the battery fuel cells were why the fire was so hot.

Not good for tesla who just relocated to Texas from commifornia.

**Honkey_Kong** · 04-19-2021, 10:24 AM

It looks like Tesla is going to have to implement measures in to their cars where the autopilot won't be engaged unless there's somebody in the driver's seat and it can tell that they are actively looking out the windshield. Some luxury cars already have this feature and it should become standard with all cars that have autopilot.

I wouldn't say that Tesla has a disproportionate number of idiots that will just engage the autopilot and then ignore what the car is doing. If autopilot was available standard on a gasoline-powered Corolla or any other economy car, they'd be having just as many morons, if not more doing the same thing. It's not that Tesla itself attracts idiots, it's that people in general are lazy and stupid.

**Beetlegeuse** · 04-19-2021, 11:03 AM

Originally Posted by Honkey_Kong

...I wouldn't say that Tesla has a disproportionate number of idiots that will just engage the autopilot and then ignore what the car is doing. If autopilot was available standard on a gasoline-powered Corolla or any other economy car, they'd be having just as many morons, if not more doing the same thing....

So what you're saying is, sitting in a Tesla makes you stupid.

I can accept that.

**Honkey_Kong** · 04-19-2021, 01:04 PM

Originally Posted by Beetlegeuse

So what you're saying is, sitting in a Tesla makes you stupid.

I can accept that.

No, I'm just saying people are lazy idiots in general. Tesla just gave an opportunity for them to tragically show it. If that feature were in a Chevy, Ford, Toyota, Honda, GM or any other make, you'd have the same result happen (if not worse). Autopilot is a nice feature, but the car needs to have a way to refuse to engage it if there isn't a driver behind the wheel that is paying attention.

Mind you I'm not a fan of Tesla cars. I think they're poorly-made and Elon Musk would've been better off taking his electric motors and battery technology and teaming up with one of the better makes that have over a hundred years experience in making cars.

**Test Monsterone** · 04-19-2021, 02:02 PM

A lot of the features a Tesla has are shared by other car brands and models, such as my girlfriend's 2019 Nissan Rogue.

You have to be in the drivers seat and be touching the steering wheel. Under these conditions, the system will keep the car within its lane, and accelerate/ decelerate as needed. If the high beams are on, it will automatically switch to low beams for oncoming traffic and back to high beams after the traffic has passed.

The type of accidents such as this one with the Tesla are due to reckless human behavior. Some people are just oblivious to dangers and have too much faith in technology. I try to avoid (as much as I can) anything that puts my life at risk and isn't in my control. The only way I could imagine myself letting a car drive me without me being in control is if there was a medical emergency where I physically could not drive the car and I had to get to the hospital.

I don't think Tesla is at fault for this one... I'm just surprised that someone who can afford a Tesla would be that stupid, to completely give control to a machine. I guess that's where the saying "more money than sense" comes from.

**wango** · 04-19-2021, 06:55 PM

The very idea of letting a car drive itself baffles the hell out of me. Yep, going take a nap now because I’m sure my car can drive itself.

If I piss off my car by not keeping it maintained or detailed, will it seek revenge by deliberately getting me a ticket? Me: “The sign said no right on red!” Car: “”Fuck you, I need a wax”.

**Test Monsterone** · 04-20-2021, 11:03 AM

Originally Posted by wango

The very idea of letting a car drive itself baffles the hell out of me. Yep, going take a nap now because I’m sure my car can drive itself.

If I piss off my car by not keeping it maintained or detailed, will it seek revenge by deliberately getting me a ticket? Me: “The sign said no right on red!” Car: “”Fuck you, I need a wax”.

Better give it that premium, or else...

**Honkey_Kong** · 04-20-2021, 04:31 PM

Originally Posted by Test Monsterone

Better give it that premium, or else...

This was a Tesla... No gas. But you better hook it up to the fast charge!

**Test Monsterone** · 04-20-2021, 05:09 PM

Originally Posted by Honkey_Kong

This was a Tesla... No gas. But you better hook it up to the fast charge!

Shit you're right... 420, I started early.

Who am I kidding, it's just another day for me.

**Beetlegeuse** · 05-14-2021, 10:57 PM

Can somebody check the Darwin Awards website for me to see if they're including these "Suicide by Tesla" morons?

Tesla in fatal Fontana crash was operating on Autopilot: CHP

If Bill Gates is serious about reducing the world's population, he should just buy every family a Tesla. That ought to get the planet's population back to about 2 billion by the end of the decade.

**wango** · 05-15-2021, 10:13 AM

There are just things that when people die from them, you have to roll your eyes. Maybe the idiots were so disinterested on the road, that they died unaware of how they died and felt no pain. But, just maybe it was quite the opposite and their last thought was, “well I’ll never make that mistake again” as they burnt to a crisp.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=...AAAAAdAAAAABAD

**Beetlegeuse** · 05-21-2021, 01:28 PM

Mind you, these are all different and unrelated events (unrelated apart from it was a Tesla owner doing what Tesla owners do), all occurring in the past week.

Tesla Autopilot system was on during fatal California crash, adding to self-driving safety concerns

Tesla on 'autopilot' crashes into deputy's vehicle in Washington state

Tesla driver slept as car was going over 80 mph on Autopilot, Wisconsin officials say

... and still more irrefutable evidence that Teslas punch WAY over their weight when it comes to attracting idiots ...

‘Socialist’ AOC slammed as a hypocrite for parking ‘her $59k Tesla ILLEGALLY’ behind DC Whole Foods

**The Deadlifting Dog** · 05-21-2021, 01:36 PM

The question is whether cars on autopilot crash more often than cars driven by people.

Just saying a car on autopilot crashed doesn't mean they are less safe than a car driven by a person.
People crash and die all the time while driving themselves.

**almostgone** · 05-21-2021, 04:30 PM

Originally Posted by The Deadlifting Dog

The question is whether cars on autopilot crash more often than cars driven by people.

Just saying a car on autopilot crashed doesn't mean they are less safe than a car driven by a person.
People crash and die all the time while driving themselves.

Not a bad point.

I wonder what the percentage of autopiloted vehicles involved in wrecks out of all autopiloted vehicles on the road is vs. the percentage of human piloted wrecks out of the total number of human piloted vehicles on the road is?

I know my post reads like crap, but I'm in a big town and it's Friday afternoon free for all drive like shit traffic. It's either at a standstill or a massive game of bumper cars as best as I can tell.

Edit: I'm texting from a standstill. I have zero patience for testing and driving. I actually saw a car whiz by me on the way back from the neurosurgeon visit last week. The stupid idiot driving it had a cell phone mounted @ twelve o'clock on the steering wheel and looked to be involved in a video chat as they sped by me.

**Honkey_Kong** · 05-21-2021, 05:52 PM

If they can get a car to drive itself, they should be able to make it so it will not engage if the driver is not in the driver's seat and paying attention to the road. It should also be able to detect if the driver is texting, stops paying attention to the road or starting to fall asleep and will automatically pull over at the first safe place to do so.