You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!
The banners on the left side and below do not show for registered users!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact contact us.
After their 18 year old son was killed in an accident.
Quote:
Family sues Tesla for too-fast car after son dies in Model S collision
The electric sedan was being driven by a friend at 186 km/h in a 50-km/h zone when it hit a wall and burst into flames
Edgar Monserratt Martinez was riding in the front passenger seat of a Tesla Model S driven by his friend Barrett Riley, also 18, when Riley lost control at 186 km/h (116 mph), crashing and killing both young men May 8, 2018.
Martinez’s parents are suing Tesla, alleging the vehicle shouldn’t have been able to drive at such a high speed, and that the car shouldn’t have caught fire as quickly as it did after the collision.
The Tesla was apparently supposed to have a 135-km/h limiter activated; the governor had been installed by Tesla mechanics at Riley’s parents’ request after Riley was caught speeding through an 80-km/h zone at a blistering 180 km/h.
However, the limiter was allegedly removed without the consent of the Riley family during routine service, shortly after it was installed.
Clickbait title says one thing, but the truth is that the parents should have put the lockdown on the kid. Responsibility starts at home, and while it's hard to be a parent sometimes, I'd rather have my kid upset than dead.
Interesting times we live in when you can act like an idiot, then sue someone for your stupidity. Eventually, someone will put a hard stop to entitlement and reality will settle in; unfortunately for this family, their son's life was the brass tax to be paid.
Feel awful for the parents of the passenger. The drivers parents though.... I would have never been allowed to drive their car again. So I’d just speed in my Escort. Lol.
It might have been as simple as a factory reset which removed the limiter and was missed by technicians. The owner's might not have realized that it could be so easy to remove it, thus why they didn't make note of it before the service or ensure it was still in place after. Tragic results, but it could lead to better safeguards in the industry.
My parents never had the money or the technology of today to simply program a speed limiter, they just bought me the slowest car they could find.
The suit claims a Tesla tech removed the speed limiter without their knowledge, Tesla’s batteries are unsafe, and Tesla did not make use of a patent that would have limited the spread of the battery fire.
Regardless, play stupid games, win stupid prizes. While I have empathy for the families involved, it doesn’t excuse the fact he was going nearly 4x the speed limit.
My Model 3 has the ability to limit the speed of the car via the app anywhere from 80-140km/h. Not sure if the S has the same feature but it's a great way to lock down how fast you can go in the 3
Years before I was old enough to drive, I thought how great it would be to have speed limit signs equipped with a signal which would automatically limit your vehicle's speed as you came within range of it. Pretty draconian looking back at it, but very effective.
18 year old kid gets busted doing 100kph over the limit and the parents solution is to put a speed governor in and give the car back? Parenting 101 right there
What hasn't Killed me, has made me more tolerant of RS!
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Pitt Meadows
Posts: 192
Thanked 160 Times in 58 Posts
Failed 3 Times in 2 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dragon-88
Still would've been alive if they bought him a Nissan Leaf, no friends would've wanted to drive it. No speed limits would've been broken.
Exactly. Even with a speed limiter I wouldn't trust my kid with a Tesla. Honestly knowing how I drove when I was 18 I probably wouldn't trust them with any car, but a Leaf would definitely be better.
Years before I was old enough to drive, I thought how great it would be to have speed limit signs equipped with a signal which would automatically limit your vehicle's speed as you came within range of it. Pretty draconian looking back at it, but very effective.
I've always found it kind of silly that people need a sign to tell them how fast they should go. I guess in the ideal world, people would just figure out when too fast is too fast for their own good.
It's all about picking your spots and driving according to the situation and road conditions. But I guess that requires a certain about of awareness.
There's really never a good time to be speeding excessively by that much though.
__________________ __________________________________________________ Last edited by AzNightmare; Today at 10:09 AM
What hasn't Killed me, has made me more tolerant of RS!
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Pitt Meadows
Posts: 192
Thanked 160 Times in 58 Posts
Failed 3 Times in 2 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by AzNightmare
I've always found it kind of silly that people need a sign to tell them how fast they should go. I guess in the ideal world, people would just figure out when too fast is too fast for their own good.
It's all about picking your spots and driving according to the situation and road conditions. But I guess that requires a certain about of awareness.
There's really never a good time to be speeding excessively by that much though.
I totally agree but I think 1) some people are totally clueless as to what's safe and 2) some people just don't give a shit or think they're such good drivers that they can go faster than is actually safe. If everyone was like you maybe it would work, but really they're not.
The Model S is a fast ducking far and I only drove the P80 or whatever the mid range model is. The braking etc and taking your foot off the gas also feels completely different than a regular vehicle so I’m sure going 180 is borderline out of control regardless of the circumstances
__________________
Dank memes cant melt steel beams
^It's a bit of a tangent to discuss speed limits in terms of regular driving habits, but this video does a good job of explaining how speed limits end up being set.
18 year old kid gets busted doing 100kph over the limit and the parents solution is to put a speed governor in and give the car back? Parenting 101 right there
Quote:
The Tesla was apparently supposed to have a 135-km/h limiter activated;
...
The crash happened on Seabreeze Boulevard, which has a 50-km/h speed limit and a 40-km/h curve. According to the crash report, the Model S was travelling at 186 km/h three seconds before the collision.
136 km/h over the speed limit ... into a corner with a 40 km/h recommended speed ... after the kid was busted doing 112 MPH in a 50 MPH zone ...
Even if the speed limiter was active at 135 km/h, this still would've been a major accident.
What hasn't Killed me, has made me more tolerant of RS!
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Pitt Meadows
Posts: 192
Thanked 160 Times in 58 Posts
Failed 3 Times in 2 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by AzNightmare
I guess in the ideal world, people would just figure out when too fast is too fast for their own good.
I quoted you earlier regarding this saying people aren't smart or don't care, but one example that goes against this (maybe other than the autobahn) is speed limits on rural roads in the UK. I grew up there and was just back there for vacation last year, and basically once you get out of a town or village, quite often the speed limit goes to 60mph (just under 100km/h). This is regardless of the type of road you're on. You can be on a road the width of one car with blind corners, and the limit will still be 60mph. When everyone is actually doing 10 to 30mph for most of this section of road. Not once in my vacation last year did I see someone blindly doing 60mph in a place where it wasn't safe. So yes maybe you're right that it is the case in an ideal world. But the problem here I think is you're basically always able to do the speed limit here, so we don't think that way.
My parents wouldn't let me drive their Merc until I got my full license. So I saved up $500 from flipping burgers and they matched it and bought me a rebuilt high mileage Ford Focus station wagon. I got a speeding ticket once and they took it away for 2 months. My neighbor complained that I was speeding so they took it away again for a few weeks. I took the bus and rode my bike in the cold and rain so i learned my lesson.
Long story short. I thought they were dicks for doing that but hey i'm alive today and so are my friends.
The parents mentioned in the article knew the capabilities of the vehicle before they bought it and they were well aware that the kid would occasionally drive it.
Very heart breaking that lives were lost but the first time the kid was caught speeding should have been a huge red flag.
I hope they drown in court fees for blaming Tesla.
Last edited by donjalapeno; 01-10-2019 at 05:36 PM.
I can’t even imagine what my parents would have done if I got caught doing 180+ in one of their cars. I can absolutely guarantee they wouldn’t have ever let me use their car again and that probably would’ve been the least of my problems.