> The Highway Loss Data Institute, a US-based organization funded by the insurance industry, has not found higher crash rates for Tesla vehicles or other EVs more broadly based on overall insurance claims.
The actual thing the headline is misrepresenting is that people who switch cars apparently crash more when they are getting used to the new model, and that increase seems slightly higher when switching from ICE to EV.
A few years later there were three cars that could do under 3 seconds, one of which was little more than a tubular chassis and drivetrain. Another was a kit car and the third was the most expensive production vehicle in the world (Veyron.) The current Veyron, incidentally, loses to both a Lucid Air and Model S Plaid.
These days a lot of production sports cars are in the 3-4 second territory. The amount of power and acceleration available is insane and completely unnecessary / inappropriate for the street.
I can engage the cruise control & even autopilot on highways, but on local roads I get loads of random phantom breaking events. The lane markings are not great and often there are cycle lanes, bus stops etc. The car will see a pedestrian walking along the side of the road and slam on the brakes. Or a cyclist. Sometimes it just suddenly slows for no apparent reason. I end up looking down at the screen to see what it thinks it's seeing, and slamming on the accelerator to make sure I get back up to speed.
In my ICE car or the Nissan Leaf I sometimes use, I can set the speed limit to 30 or 20 as appropriate and then just drive foot to the floor and know I'll just drive at that speed. When I have to slow down for a cyclist or whatever I just release the pedal, maybe use the brake, then accelerate again and I am still fine.
I do wish the cars would be able to set the speed limiter based on the current speed limit from the maps in the SatNav. The Tesla can use this for the cruise control, meaning you are unexpectedly accelerated when you reach a faster section of road, and you have to tap the brakes to regain control, cancelling the whole mode you were driving in, and putting you immediately into regenerative braking, even if you just want to keep the same speed.
It's great when tech-assist features work. I look forward to the day that do reliably. Until then (and frankly, even if then), they absolutely need ways to toggle them off, with granularity. Smart features shouldn't replace "dumb" features, just augment/build atop them.
I mean, I guess that might be better than Tesla's randomly slowing down then unexpectedly accelerating again mess, but a simple limiter is far better. The Tesla even has one, but you can't activate it or change it's speed except by going into the valet menu and assigning a PIN. It needs to be adjustable while you are driving with the controls on or around the wheel so that you can set it when the speed limit changes.
I can tell you the reason why, EVs are a new type of driving and most people are unaccustomed to it.
Particularly the way coasting works. If you let off of the throttle, regenerative braking takes over and can bring a car to a stop as fast as a braking.
Sure this can be changed but most people who drive rental cars don't want to spend the time learning how to configure a car they will only use for a few days.
The fact that hertz forced EVs as the cheapest option instead of as a niche one was why I switched to other agencies. I don't want to deal with charging and any of the lifestyle changes that come with ev ownership. That's not a knock at EVs, that's just the consequence of only using a unique vehicle for a few days.
(1) Tesla drivers skew heavily male (70+%), and male drivers are much higher risk (2-3x, though not as dramatically different when older)
(2) Tesla drivers skew upper-middle class, the Tesla itself isn't cheap, and people who drive more expensive cars tend to drive worse (could be confounded by gender or other factors, but when uncorrected it's a correlation that exists).
(3) Teslas are insanely heavy. Pickup trucks have higher crash rates than sedans too.
And so on. Is there a better version of this article that tries to study why there are more crashes rather than just guess?
Not sure why that was almost at the end, especially after
> Crashes are even more frequent in households with both a gas and an electric model, indicating that regularly switching from one to another exacerbates the issues.
I also notice a large percentage of those new teslas have "New Driver" bumper stickers.
Based on this small geo/population study, I would expect tesla drivers in my area to have an accident rate that looks more similar to the new driver accident rate typically seen in teens (though maybe without as much recklessness)
