Tag Archives: underride

Joshua Brown, 40, Tesla Model S Driver, Killed in Williston, FL

July 7, 2016 Mike

Who:

Joshua Brown, 40, from Canton, Ohio, died on May 7th, 2016 at 3:40 PM in Williston, Florida, due to a collision between his 2015 Tesla Model S operating in “Autopilot” mode and a semi-trailer driven by Frank Baressi, 62. Brown died at the scene, while Baressi was uninjured.

How:

Per Florida Highway Patrol reports, the crash occurred on US 27A, a divided highway. The semi was north-east-bound while the Model S was south-west-bound and traveling with “Autopilot”, a semi-autonomous driving mode, activated. The semi turned left in front of the car, and the car continued to travel at an estimated speed of 65 mph into and underneath the trailer at a broadside angle (i.e., a side underride). Tesla’s electronic records indicate the brakes were not applied by either the vehicle or the driver, and that none of the features of the car detected the semi in front of the vehicle.

The windshield was penetrated and the roof was torn off at impact, and the driver was presumably killed at this time. The car continued beneath the trailer, staying east-bound on the roadway, until eventually leaving it on the right side (south shoulder) and striking multiple fences and a power pole, before ending 100 feet away from the highway.

The driver of the semi stated that Brown was watching a film (Harry Potter) at the time of the crash. He later clarified that he had not seen the film, but had heard it. The police later discovered a portable DVD in the vehicle, but did not note whether it had been playing at the time of the collision.

Tesla blogged about the crash in late June, shortly before the NHTSA publicized its intent to launch a preliminary evaluation of the Autopilot system. They stated that Autopilot camera didn’t notice the trailer due to the color of the trailer (white) and the brightness of the day, leading to the vehicle not applying the brakes. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, added that the vehicle’s radar did not see the trailer because it was designed to ignore objects that resembled overhead road signs (i.e., the height of the trailer fooled the system into ignoring it). They ultimately placed responsibility on the driver, noting that the system was a semi-autonomous one and was not designed to replace actual driving behaviors.

Why:

A side underride guard (standard in the EU) could have significantly mitigated the severity of this collision.

This is an unfortunate case that has sent ripples through the Tesla and autonomous driving communities, and for good reason. I’ve written about underride collisions before, and my reaction to this crash is no different in this respect: regardless of whether responsibility should be handed to the driver of the Tesla (who was inattentive enough to have not made any attempt at braking the vehicle or steering it out of the path of the semi trailer), the driver of the semi (who is being judged at fault most strongly by the Tesla community under the tenet in US traffic law that a vehicle that does not yield to a vehicle with the right of way is generally automatically responsible in a collision), or the Tesla and its designers (due to the inability of the vehicle to detect a massive and massively dangerous roadway obstacle), I firmly believe the ultimate responsibility rests with our government’s refusal to mandate side underride guards and stronger rear underride guards, as is the case in the European Union.

Trucks in the EU are required to have rear and side underride guards, dramatically reducing underride injury and fatality rates compared to in the US.

In the US, they are known as RUPS (Rear Underrun Protection System), FUPS (Front Underrun Protection System), and SUPS (Side Underrun Protection System). In this case, the SUPS was the relevant guard missing, which was unfortunately to be expected, since, unlike RUPS, they aren’t required in the United States.

While such guards may not have prevented the collision (Brown was apparently unaware that he was being driven into a semi-trailer, and the Autopilot may have been unable to “see” a white underride guard, given its blindness to a white trailer), it would almost certainly have reduced the impact of the collision, and perhaps have done so to the point where the underride might have been avoided or mitigated to survivable levels.

The vehicle and drivers were (also) both at fault

Beyond the need for comprehensive side and rear underride guards, I completely agree that Brown (and Baressi) should have been paying greater attention while driving. An outspoken proponent of the Model S and Tesla company, Brown made a number of YouTube videos within which he discussed his appreciation of the Model S’ Autopilot feature, and even credited it with saving him from a crash shortly before his death.

Unfortunately, the system he trusted with his life was eventually partly responsible for claiming it. This was a complete failure of the Autopilot system; any system incapable of seeing an effectively stopped, massive, life-threatening road obstacle is not a system that should not be made massively available to the driving population. While the Autopilot documentation repeatedly states that the driver must remain ready to take control, the truth of human nature is that people have, do, and will continue to try to get away with as much as they see safely possible. Tesla dared its drivers to take this risk while hiding behind legalese about the need to avoid this risk. This is unacceptable.

Tesla additionally intimated that despite the failure of Autopilot here, Teslas equipped with activated Autopilot were still safer than any other group of driver-driven vehicles:

This is the first known fatality in just over 130 million miles where Autopilot was activated. Among all vehicles in the US, there is a fatality every 94 million miles. Worldwide, there is a fatality approximately every 60 million miles.

Unfortunately, this claim rings hollow, even if technically accurate, due to the extremely controlled conditions under which Autopilot is activated by Tesla drivers (by a self-selected community of generally educated, wealthy, and older individuals and almost exclusively on divided highways, which have the lowest fatality rates per mile of any large driving environment in the US), compared to the general battlefield of drivers, vehicles, and roadways throughout the country (and world). It isn’t a fair comparison.

Additionally, due to the vanishingly small sample size used, it’s also at risk of being debunked and openly ridiculed at any moment. If only 1 Autopilot fatality has occurred in 130 million miles of activation, a second fatality tomorrow would drop the ratio to 1 per 65 million miles, a statistic that would make the Autopilot 31% more dangerous than not buying or driving a Tesla, but driving whatever you wanted and on whatever road you wanted, on average. It would make an Autopiloted Tesla virtually identical in risk to that of the average driver throughout the globe. A third AP fatality would drop the ratio to 1 in 43 million, making an AP Tesla more than twice as dangerous as the average driver / vehicle combination in the US and 40% more dangerous than the average global driver. This isn’t the kind of math Tesla wants to get itself into.

I have no doubt that autonomous driving, in general, will be far, far safer than human-led driving once the technology is mature and widely available. However, what Tesla is pushing isn’t autonomous driving. To be fair, Tesla doesn’t claim that it is. But until they have it available, half measures can be far more dangerous than the real thing or nothing. A little knowledge can get you into a lot of trouble. You can’t jump a cliff halfway. This is one of those areas where an “all or nothing” approach is much safer than a system that lulls people into a false sense of security.

We still need underride guards

As I’ve written before, and will continue to write in every underride crash until the US brings its underride guard regulations into the 21st century, it is essential to repeat that this crash was preventable, but that virtually no passenger vehicle exists that would have protected him at the speeds at which he likely crashed, as the significant marker of trailer underride crashes is that the part that results in death–the trailer itself–is above the crash-absorbing structures of virtually every vehicle on the road. This is proven true yet again, regardless of whatever marketing Tesla will likely continue to push about the S (and X, and 3) being the safest vehicles in their class. It’s not about the vehicles; it’s about the guards.

—

If you find the information on car safety, recommended car seats, and car seat reviews on this car seat blog helpful, you can shop through this Amazon link for any purchases, car seat-related or not. Canadians can shop through this link for Canadian purchases.

Darla Alexander, 55, by Suffolk, VA, Killed in Semi Underride

March 6, 2015 Mike

Who:

Darla A. Alexander, 55, of Chesapeake, was killed around 10:55 AM on I-664 around Suffolk, VA, when her 2013 Toyota Camry crashed into the back of a 2010 Kenworth tractor-trailer driven by John Chase Jr, 41.

How:

Per police reports, the trailer was stopped in the northbound lanes of I-664, “south of the Monitor-Merrimack Memorial Bridge Tunnel” due to a truck crossing the tunnel. Alexander slammed into the back of the trailer and was killed at the scene. Chase was uninjured. Speed was cited as a factor in the crash.

Why:

This was, sadly, a textbook example of a passenger vehicle-large truck fatality due to a rear underride. It looks like a full frontal overlap in the picture. Trailer rear underride guards are designed to withstand a 35 mph full or moderate overlap without causing catastrophic injuries (death) to the impacting vehicle, which indicates Alexander must have been traveling at significantly more than 35 mph to have impacted with enough force to lead to that level of cabin intrusion (which would be classified as catastrophic, as the intrusion extended past the B frame of the vehicle). Catastrophic levels of intrusion are virtually unsurvivable. Despite the impressive safety features of the 2013 Camry, there was virtually no chance of survival once she exceeded, I’d estimate, 45 mph. The reasons for the crash are not known at this time, but they almost certainly were due to driver inattention, whether due to cell phone use, radio use, sleepiness, or alcohol / medical impairment.

It is essential to repeat that this crash was preventable, but that virtually no passenger vehicle exists that would have protected her at the speeds at which she likely crashed, as the significant marker of trailer underride crashes is that the part that results in death–the trailer itself–is above the crash-absorbing structures of virtually every vehicle on the road.

—

Irving M. Mangel, 76, in Boca Raton, FL, Killed in Underride

November 25, 2014 Mike

Who:
Irving M. Mangel, 76, was killed on Monday, 4/21/14, at around 6 AM in Boca Raton, FL, on Clint Moore Road. He drove a 2014 Hyundai Equus and crashed into the side of a 1999 Freightliner tractor trailer driven by Johnny Ray Arden, 69. Arden was uninjured while Mangel died at the scene.

How:
Per police reports, the trailer was eastbound and trying to make a U-turn. Mangel was westbound and collided. He impacted the side of the trailer and died at the scene.

Why:
This was, sadly, another example of a passenger vehicle-large truck fatality due to a rear underride. The Equus (essentially a larger Sonata) impacted with enough force (likely in excess of 55 mph) to lead to that level of cabin intrusion (which would be classified as catastrophic, as the intrusion extended past the B frame of the vehicle). Catastrophic levels of intrusion are virtually unsurvivable. Despite the impressive safety features of the 2014 Equus, there was virtually no chance of survival. The reasons for the crash are not known at this time, but they almost certainly were due to driver inattention, whether due to cell phone use, radio use, sleepiness, or alcohol / medical impairment.

It is essential to repeat that this crash was preventable, but that virtually no passenger vehicle exists that would have protected him at the speeds at which he likely crashed, as the significant marker of trailer underride crashes is that the part that results in death–the trailer itself–is above the crash-absorbing structures of virtually every vehicle on the road.

—

Two Adults Killed while Toddler Lives in Fridley, MN, in Car vs. Semi Crash

May 30, 2014 Mike

Who:
Wilbur Hooks, 32, and Patricia Hooks, 31, were killed on Friday, 4/4/14, at around 8 PM, on eastbound I-694 in Fridley, Minnesota, when their 2007 Chrysler 300 crashed into the back of a semi-trailer close to Matterhorn Drive. Patricia had been pregnant and was due this fall. Both Hooks died at the scene on impact while the couple’s son, Bishop, 2, survived in the rear seat with minor injuries. The driver of the semi, Steven Pothen, 68, was uninjured.

How:
Per reports, the Chrysler 300 traveled at a high rate of speed, perhaps in excess of 100 mph, while weaving in and out of traffic until colliding with the rear end of a semi trailer. Both adults died at the scene. Patricia was wearing her belt and her airbag deployed. Bishop was in the rear seat in a car seat and was not seriously injured.

Why:
This was, sadly, another textbook example of a passenger vehicle-large truck fatality due to a rear underride. It looks like a full frontal overlap in the picture. Trailer rear underride guards are designed to withstand a 35 mph full or moderate overlap without causing catastrophic injuries (death) to the impacting vehicle, which indicates Hooks must have been traveling at significantly more than 35 mph (relative to the trailer) to have impacted with enough force to lead to that level of cabin intrusion (which would be classified as catastrophic, as the intrusion extended past the B frame of the vehicle). Indeed, various reports have suggested they were traveling at over 100 mph, which would have been at least 35 mph faster than a semi trailer traveling at 65 mph.

Catastrophic levels of intrusion are virtually unsurvivable. Despite the strong front safety score of the 2007 300, there was virtually no chance of survival for front passengers in such an impact. The reasons for the crash are still unknown, but they almost certainly were due to driver inattention and speeding. Family reported Hooks “loved to drive fast,” while the vehicle was reported to have woven through traffic before the impact, and no sign of braking was detected.

It is essential to repeat that this crash was preventable, but that virtually no passenger vehicle exists that would have protected them at the speeds at which they likely crashed, as the significant marker of trailer underride crashes is that the part that results in death–the trailer itself–is above the crash-absorbing structures of virtually every vehicle on the road.

The most significant part of this story, however, is not the deaths of the parents, but the survival of the child. 2 year old Bishop Hooks survived the crash because he was strapped into a car seat. It is unknown whether or not he was rear-facing, but given his survival with non-life threatening injuries, it is possible that he was. Of course, it was also necessary for there to be a survivable space within the vehicle, which clearly only existed in the rear of the vehicle. However, without a car seat, Bishop would not be alive today. He will live with his grandmother, per family reports.

Rear face your children as long as possible.

—

Olivia Lopez, 86, of North Bergen, NJ, Killed in SUV-Semi Crash

April 7, 2014 Mike

The Who:

Olivia Lopez, 86 (killed) on 3/19/14. She was the front passenger in a 2007-era Honda CR-V driven by her husband, Hugo Lopez, 83, while their daughter, Juana Lopez, was in the back seat behind the driver. The collision occurred at 4:50 PM on a ramp in North Bergen that led to Route 495 West.

The How:

According to Lopez, the CR-V suddenly accelerated. The vehicle hit 4 or more other vehicles before crashing into the back left corner of a tractor trailer. Hugo told police he could not stop the vehicle before it crashed. Olivia died at the scene, while her family members had minor injuries.

The Why:

It is impossible to tell what went wrong in this case, butt is possible that this may have been an unfortunate case of driver error. The 2007-era CR-V is one of the safest cars on the road, as the AWD version had a driver death rate of 7 while the FWD version had a driver death rate of ~20, per the most recent IIHS status report on driver death rates. Unintended accelerations do not appear to be a common complaint in safety reports on the NHTSA website. However, it is important to remember that individual vehicles can and do have malfunctions, and without a detailed analysis of the throttle mechanism of the vehicle, it is impossible to say whether the error rested with the vehicle or the driver. Unfortunately, regardless of what led to the collision, the life of a dear family member was lost.

Structurally, what occurred was a small frontal overlap crash involving rear underride into a semi-trailer. Rear underride small overlap crashes with semis are particularly deadly, as this IIHS report indicates, where a 35 mph 30% overlap crash was almost invariably fatal to the simulated driver. Severe cabin intrusion occurred into the passenger side as the CR-V broke past the underride guard, and sadly, the passenger was almost certainly killed instantly. Please drive safely and watch out for semi trailers; they are by far the most dangerous vehicles on our roads in terms of likelihoods of causing fatalities in multi-vehicle collisions.

—

35,000 Americans will die this year on the road. You don't have to be one of them. A car seat and car safety blog to promote best practices for families.