Chinanews.com, May 6 (China News Financial Reporter Ge Cheng) Recently, an accident in Jinhua, Zhejiang, in which a Tesla car fell off a cliff on a mountain road, causing two people to die tragically, pushed Tesla to the center of the whirlpool of public opinion. Topics related to it have appeared on the hot search list many times.
After the accident, the owner's family spoke out, and Tesla also responded. Confusingly, the dashcam data, which was supposed to be the most important piece of evidence, disappeared. What happened before the accident, how did the vehicle crash into the guardrail and fall off a cliff?
A tree broke off at the site of the incident. Social media screenshots.
Question 1: How did the vehicle get into an accident?
The family members of the parties have told the media that the accident occurred three days before the "May Day" holiday. Unfortunately, it was his cousin and his wife who died. At the time of the accident, the two were driving a Tesla Model Y along the Panshi Line back to their home in Jinyi New District, when the vehicle crashed into the guardrail and rushed down the winding mountain road when they climbed over the Sun Ridge.
Videos on social media showed the vehicle involved in the accident crashing down the cliff with trees crushed around it and a large amount of black debris scattered around. At the same time, the damaged vehicle had a collapsed roof, a deformed frame, damaged doors, shattered windows, an air curtain popped out, and the left taillight was almost gone.
According to the family members of the parties, the two drivers and passengers who died were very familiar with this two-way single-lane mountain road, remembered every bend clearly, and had never had an accident on this road. After the incident, the family tried to ask the traffic police about the specific situation, but did not obtain more information about the accident.
So, what exactly happened to the vehicle before and after the accident?
The vehicle involved was severely damaged. Social media screenshots.
Doubt 2: The maximum speed of mountain roads has reached 120km/h?
According to the feedback of the family of the person concerned, his relatives in the traffic police team had heard that the maximum speed of the vehicle involved reached 120km/h. This number shocked the family, how could it be possible to drive so fast on the winding mountain road. At the same time, there were no traces of braking at the scene of the accident.
What made them even more puzzled was that there were obvious scratch marks on the side near the mountain near the accident site, which lasted for about thirty or forty meters, until a right turn corner mark disappeared, and the car also rushed down from here, and there was no trace of braking in the whole process. It is speculated that the driver may have tried to stop the vehicle by scraping the hill at the time of the incident, and did not rush down until it was too late at the turn.
Regarding the above statement, some netizens said, "The speed of driving the highway on the mountain road is really incomprehensible." Some netizens also said that it may be that Tesla's one-pedal mode "got into trouble" again, causing the owner to confuse the accelerator and brake pedal, which led to the accident.
In fact, the speed limit on mainland highways is mostly 120km/h, and it is indeed contrary to common sense that vehicles can drive so fast on winding mountain roads, is this true?
Instructions for Model Y dash cams. Screenshot of Tesla's official website.
Question 3: Why does the dash cam data disappear?
However, the most puzzling thing for the families of the parties is that in the process of the accident, the Tesla Model Y dash cam did not have any data.
The reporter flipped through the Tesla Model Y owner's manual and noticed that in the description about the "dash cam", it was mentioned that "when driving, the dash cam will record video clips around the vehicle." Use a dash cam to record driving events or other noteworthy events, similar to using an external dash cam for other vehicles. ”
The note also mentions that "if Model Y detects a serious safety event, such as a collision or airbag deployment, the dashcam will automatically save a video recording to a USB device." At the same time, "whether or not a dashcam automatically saves footage of a serious safety event depends on several factors (e.g., the amount of force, whether the airbag is deployed, etc.). Don't rely on a dashcam to automatically record all serious safety incidents. ”
The reporter called Tesla in response to a question about the dash cam, and the customer service staff said, "Traditionally, for example, (the dash cam) is set to save automatically or whistle, and at the point of collision, it will be recorded on the sensor." ”
In response to the accident in Jinhua, Zhejiang, the dash cam did not have any data, the customer service staff said, "We have to wait for the official channel to release, but also to see the specific investigation, at present (Tesla) is also actively cooperating with the police investigation." ”
The three major doubts of this accident still need to be further responded to by Tesla. (ENDS)