Tragic Cybertruck Accident in SF Bay Area Kills 3, Injures 1

[Pops]

One of the Wham Baam videos showed a thief hitting the frameless Cybertruck window until it cracked, and then rolled it downward in just a few seconds.

The window in that video was partially opened. I believe they had the truck window venting on. You can see the thief put is fingers into the opening and pull back with all his weight.

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[YDR37]

Either of these

Nope. Standard window-breaking tools (ResQme, LifeHammer, etc) will work fine on tempered glass, but not on laminated glass, which is what the Cybertruck (and many other vehicles) now use for their side and rear windows. The ResQme and LifeHammer websites explicitly acknowledge this limitation.

 

[CyberGus]

Either of these

Interesting color choice?

 

[Startreknerd]

With laminated glass, there is a plastic sheet bonded between two glass layers. You can crack the glass with a steel ball (as demonstrated in the 2019 Cybertruck unveiling) or other heavy weight, but the glass will still stick to the plastic sheet. You can't get through the window unless you actually cut a hole in the internal plastic sheet.

Once cracked it should slump down. Or can be pushed out.

 

[Startreknerd]

Interesting color choice?

Easy to see/save the boobies

 

[CyberGus]

Easy to see

Touché

 

[Startreknerd]

Nope. Standard window-breaking tools (ResQme, LifeHammer, etc) will work fine on tempered glass, but not on laminated glass, which is what the Cybertruck (and many other vehicles) now use for their side and rear windows. The ResQme and LifeHammer websites explicitly acknowledge this limitation.

In the videos the cracked sheet of glass slumps down on its own due to gravity. Or if snug in place pushing it out works just fine.

 

[YDR37]

In the videos the cracked sheet of glass slumps down on its own due to gravity. Or if snug in place pushing it out works just fine.

Here's a video showing the level of effort that firefighters, working from outside, needed to get to that point. Would be harder from the inside.

 

[Startreknerd]

Here's a video
Here's a [url=https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-kyzkdsaQM4]video[/url] showing the level of effort that firefighters, working from outside, needed to get to that point. Would be harder from the inside.

Windows are designed to protect from outward intrusions. And most are concave. Pushing out is easier once the glass is cracked. Of course harder than non laminated. But many cars have laminated now.

 

[YDR37]

Of course harder than non laminated. But many cars have laminated now.

Correct, this is not a Cybertruck-specific, or even a Tesla-specific, issue. Many manufacturers are switching to laminated glass windows.

You might wonder, if it's hard to escape through laminated windows, then are they a safety hazard? The answer is that they are actually considered safer than traditional tempered windows in most accident scenarios, because they act as supports for airbags, don't generate flying glass shards, and keep people from being ejected out through the sides during rollovers.

 

[Startreknerd]

Correct, this is not a Cybertruck-specific, or even a Tesla-specific, issue. Many manufacturers are switching to laminated glass windows.

You might wonder, if it's hard to escape through laminated windows, then are they a safety hazard? The answer is that they are actually considered safer than traditional tempered windows in most accidents, because they don't generate flying glass shards and keep people from being ejected out through the side.

And flying debris stops from flying in. And to a lesser extent can stop an ejection at certain angles and lower speeds.

 

[HaulingAss]

What would be the ignition and fuel source in a solo EV car crash, though?

In an ICE car, there's plenty of volatile gas vapor available. In an EV, if not thermal runaway of the battery, what would be the equivalent fire source?

After a crash, ICE cars have electrical fires too, caused by the electrical system. That's probably what this was unless people inside were actively smoking things.

But if fear of burning up in a vehicle is high on your worry list, best avoid ICE cars because when fuel spills the fire starts with a "whoosh", engulfing the scene and leaving very little time to escape.

EV fires happen at about 1/12th the rate, and generally start slow and take a few minutes to build intensity. If you are conscious, you will probably just walk away. Like ICE vehicles, if there is severe damage, you may have to climb out a window or another door.

A major selling point of EVs should be the fact that they are much less likely to catch on fire in the first place, and the EV fires build slowly. Instead, many ignorant people are more afraid of EV fires than ICE fires. And the media does little to mitigate this irrational fear, either in terms of informing viewers how much less likely EVs are to catch on fire, or how much easier they are to walk away from.

Go figure.

 

[Outdoors]

Trees and concrete walls don't work well with vehicles. Add speed=not good. No matter the car one's brain moves inside head when such an event happens. Unconsciousness would likely be a given.

Always thought of my dirt road as being safe as a kid. Most would drive 45ish. Car crashes with trees would claim 4 on that road that I remember by the time I grew up.

Sad story.

 

[CTInProcess]

RIP, the CT did its job. Owners should practice emergency situations with passengers just in case. Do this monthly because you never know. It’ll become second nature.

 

[CTInProcess]

After a crash, ICE cars have electrical fires too, caused by the electrical system. That's probably what this was unless people inside were actively smoking things.

But if fear of burning up in a vehicle is high on your worry list, best avoid ICE cars because when fuel spills the fire starts with a "whoosh", engulfing the scene and leaving very little time to escape.

EV fires happen at about 1/12th the rate, and generally start slow and take a few minutes to build intensity. If you are conscious, you will probably just walk away. Like ICE vehicles, if there is severe damage, you may have to climb out a window or another door.

A major selling point of EVs should be the fact that they are much less likely to catch on fire in the first place, and the EV fires build slowly. Instead, many ignorant people are more afraid of EV fires than ICE fires. And the media does little to mitigate this irrational fear, either in terms of informing viewers how much less likely EVs are to catch on fire, or how much easier they are to walk away from.

Go figure.

Agreed. This is the safest car on the road today. Another case of user error and not bad car design. RIP.

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