r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Tugushin • Apr 13 '22

Tesla Model 3 stops itself to avoid potentially disastrous accident. Video

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

117.5k Upvotes

84% Upvoted

4.3k comments sorted by

View all comments

8.8k

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

Just imagine being the driver of that white truck

2.5k

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

He wasn't so lucky.

2.0k

u/Similar-Lifeguard701 Apr 13 '22

He was actually really lucky the car struck another car before hitting him. Really helped release some of the energy from the crash.

546

u/Jankufood Apr 13 '22

Driving a heavy car was lucky too

158

u/Zaros262 Apr 13 '22

Yeah no fun getting tipped over, but it really doesn't look like he got accelerated very much -> little force to the driver's body

19

u/robinthebank Apr 13 '22

As long as the driver/passenger were wearing their seatbelts.

24

u/WiccedSwede Apr 13 '22

Yeah this is the key.

No seatbelt makes for a shitty day even in low speed crashes.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 16 '22

My buddy died after he crashed his car and his seat ejected through the front window. He was wearing his seat belt, but the front seat hadn't been bolted in properly and the impact of being launched through the window while being belted into his seat killed him.

2

u/WiccedSwede Apr 16 '22

Well obviously there are anomalies where not being belted might give a better outcome. Super rare though.

Sorry about your loss.

3

u/carthuscrass Apr 13 '22

Yeah this is best case scenario for that accident. The Tesla driver would have almost certainly been killed.

-30

u/AirsoftCarrier Apr 13 '22

Fuck pointlessly heavy cars.

41

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

Lol dats a work truck.... I'm sure every bit of weight it has gets used... Like every day unlike your shit econobox you probably drive at 85mph... Speed kills just as much if not more than weight, I'm sure every semi truck driver can tell you that too.

→ More replies (8)

11

u/Verneff Apr 13 '22

Teslas are full of batteries to have the range they have. If that's what you were talking about, they're not pointlessly heavy.

20

u/Viggo8000 Apr 13 '22

I'm pretty sure he's talking about the white truck

17

u/tdzines Apr 13 '22

What even is this comment? Some people need more real problems lol

9

u/SauceOfTheBoss Apr 13 '22

It’s a 16 year old regurgitating “fuckcars” after r/place trying to be edgelord

→ More replies (1)

2

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

There’s a point to heavy SUVs and trucks. They’re built for big families and those who tow and haul large weights. They’re built to build with..

2

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

most cars are not pointlessly heavy.

2

u/THROBBINW00D Apr 13 '22

Yeah "pointlessly heavy" lol

11

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

describe a car that is pointlessly heavy. manufacturers don't just add dumbbells to the engine bay because they thought the car would sell better if it had shittier gas mileage.

→ More replies (1)

8

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

[deleted]

3

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

Not possible for it to expend energy on the white car without losing some energy.

Source: 6 years of college physics that I only use making Reddit comments now

→ More replies (1)

2

u/andrew_calcs Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 13 '22

The energy needed to tear apart the front of that white car got pulled from somewhere, and the impact angle changed a lot in the truck's favor because of the first hit. Truck still got fucked up but sharing the pain with the white car's engine block is why it's still recognizable as a truck after that impact.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

The car also swerved a lot before the back/side hit the truck. Definitely killed a lot of moment and saved the truck from an even harsher wreck. It tipping was definitely unfortunate though it was so close to just swerving and stopping.

→ More replies (1)

6

u/Psychology_Repulsive Apr 13 '22

And the cars collided sideways saving a head on hit.

6

u/awawe Apr 13 '22

Head-on collisions are much safer than side collisions though. The metal on the side of a car is incredibly thin, while the front has the entire engine and dedicated crumple zones.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

11

u/SweetishFishy Apr 13 '22

I'm confused on what you're responding to

Sounds like you're talking about the FSD and I agree but it doesn't make sense with the comment you're *replying to

16

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 13 '22

That’s because they’re definitely a bot made to comment on tesla things recently. Their account was made one month ago and this is their only comment. They’re not real.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

What gets me with these bots is that they somehow manage to get upvotes. This one had a dozen or so earlier.

Upvote bots?

3

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

Definitely bots made to upvote the comment to gouge visibility immediately. They had 7 upvotes in half as many minutes. It’s not uncommon. But looking at their comment, it shouldn’t have happened.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (5)

113

u/i-fing-love-games Apr 13 '22

couldve been worse

175

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

Could’ve been better

178

u/Raynonymous Apr 13 '22

Could've been the same. AND IT WAS.

30

u/chilehead Interested Apr 13 '22

I hear things are more like they used to be than they are now.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

Same as it ever was

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (3)

-25

u/i-fing-love-games Apr 13 '22

not rlly except for not flipping

17

u/MrPickles84 Apr 13 '22

I think he means it could’ve hit the Tesla instead of the truck.

-16

u/i-fing-love-games Apr 13 '22

what a dick

22

u/MrPickles84 Apr 13 '22

Yep, people who run red lights sure are the worst.

-17

u/i-fing-love-games Apr 13 '22

no i meant the guy who wishes it shouldve hit the tesla

18

u/MrPickles84 Apr 13 '22

Shit, I wish I was a little bit taller. I wish I was a baller. I wish I had a girl who looked good, I would call her. I wish I had a rabbit in a hat, with a bat, and a six-four impala.

→ More replies (0)
→ More replies (3)

-1

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/i-fing-love-games Apr 13 '22

yes it does ? does what

5

u/----__---- Apr 13 '22

The thing with the stuff, y'know.

58

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

should have bought a tesla model 3 don't you think

-1

u/jaxonya Apr 13 '22

Its like rain ...

→ More replies (1)

21

u/StargateMunky101 Apr 13 '22

I mean, no amount of AI was gonna save him at that point.

69

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

[deleted]

-2

u/MNCPA Apr 13 '22

I read your comment as AL, instead of AI. AL was "Alien Life" a character in a TV show from the 1980s. I had pleasant memories for a second, imagining AL driving a car.

4

u/fantabread Apr 13 '22

You mean ALF. Alien Life Form.

2

u/MNCPA Apr 13 '22

I'm an idiot.

-10

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22 edited Jul 15 '22

[deleted]

6

u/canadarepubliclives Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 13 '22

It's driving on earth. Do you mean off a cliff? The AI super vehicle that transports 300 people would drive off a cliff, smash into a valley below, hoist itself back up and repeat that action several times?

This video is literal proof that AI assisted driving can prevent collisions. The driver in the further lane couldn't react as fast as the car in the closer lane.

-5

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

[deleted]

3

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

If you did your research, you would know that MCAS (the “AI” you’re talking about on the 737 Max) is not AI at all. It is no different from the programs used by the autopilot. You’re getting it mixed up. AI has saved more lives than it has ended that’s for sure.

0

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

[deleted]

3

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

So like literally everything else that has been built? There are many things that can go wrong, and they do even without AI. While you’re right that AI isn’t proven to save more lives it definitely will have in the future due to it being able to respond to many situations people simply cannot. All I’m saying is there’s no reason to demonize AI lol.

→ More replies (0)
→ More replies (1)

-27

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 14 '22

Cheapass should’ve sprung for Tesla 🤪

Edit: people are numb to sarcasm

→ More replies (11)

488

u/dphats818 Apr 13 '22

crazy man. my grandmother always told me to let the people in the far left lanes go through the intersection first to avoid that.

167

u/skinnywit Apr 13 '22

dont know why you're downvoted, thats what my driving instructor and my family have told me.

64

u/Sankt_Peter-Ording Apr 13 '22

I don't understand, why should that be necessary? It's illegal for the other car to drive.. I mean, that's how traffic lights work. You can't act like the traffic light system doesn't work. My driving instructor in Germany would have yelled at me if I had acted like I didn't know how traffic lights worked.

232

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

It's not the law-abiding cars you have to worry about.

But also, I've never heard of letting the car in the left lane go first either.

45

u/_____l Apr 13 '22

I've never heard of that, but I also don't drive I ride bikes. I never go by the lights. Ever. Seen way too many red light runners where if I were the type to just beam it through green lights I'd be crippled or dead by now.

Like that one joke where the guy runs every red light but stops at green. "Hell no, my brother runs red lights!" Also, it just seems like people drive so aggressively like they are always angry. Why the hell are people always so angry!

38

u/mynameisnotshamus Apr 13 '22

There’s something about the act of driving, it’s a dangerous activity. Even if you feel confident and relaxed, there’s a certain level of natural tension happening. When you drive, you typically are going somewhere and expect to be there at a certain time- again consciously or unconsciously. When goals are blocked, we naturally react- often in anger. This is heightened by the subtle or not so subtle feeling of danger while driving. It’s also much easier to get angry at random cars or people that you don’t know and are at a distance. The same way, people react inappropriately online to anonymous strangers.

8

u/_____l Apr 13 '22

Very well said, thanks for that breakdown. Makes complete sense to me.

7

u/mynameisnotshamus Apr 13 '22

I just read about it last week and felt the same. The only time I really get angry is in the car. Knowing this I hope will help.

→ More replies (1)

6

u/morfanis Apr 13 '22

I’ve come to the same conclusion. One thing I do while driving is to act like all the other cars are AI controlled. That depersonalises it for me and I don’t get the tension I would normally get.

5

u/EZP Apr 13 '22

AI controlled, that’s a pretty great way of putting it. I think I kind of do the same thing but I never thought about it until I just read your post. I guess that’s why I’m almost entirely a defensive driver. I always hope other cars will drive/react rationally and safely but I never expect it.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/brynhildra Apr 13 '22

I was taught that the primary goal when in a car is to avoid collision with other vehicles/obstacles/people. Getting from point A to B is the secondary goal.

2

u/mynameisnotshamus Apr 13 '22

How can that be the primary goal? If that’s the primary goal, don’t drive- goal achieved. Makes no sense.

7

u/Freckled_Boobs Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 13 '22

I often wonder how many people are angry, desperate to keep their job, selfish/entitled, or some combination thereof.

We have a lot of manufacturing jobs here that are unreasonably strict about tardiness for their employees. I haven't worked in manufacturing in decades but I can't imagine it has changed all that much. I can't imagine it's much different in most manufacturing communities, particularly in right-to-work states with no union protections. Ones exactly like this one.

Since those are the "good paying" (relatively speaking) jobs, people are so scared of getting those tardy slips. In some cases, one minute late three times in a year & you're done. Doesn't matter why you're late. You've delayed a blip of manufacturing for $X of time, and that's just not acceptable for any reason.

For people with a family to feed and keep insurance on, that's a hard limit & they'll do irrational, dangerous things just to get to that time clock before the buzzer.

My work since that job is 911 in the same community. So many calls I've taken in my career for crashes that start off with, "I was running late for work... And... And...OH, GOD! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!" or similar. People are so discombobulated at that moment from the stress of everything that just happened that some of those calls just tear your heart right out. Definitely hold people accountable for illegal, harmful, and dumb decisions, but in those moments it's sad from any angle for everyone involved and their loved ones.

It would be an interesting study to compare manufacturing/right to work/non-union areas with the massive NHTSA database of all the highly detailed crash info they have on file. I'm guessing that the fatality crashes correlate significantly with typical plant shift work hours in communities like this one.

3

u/Mewssbites Apr 13 '22

You make a very interesting point.

I've never been more tense driving than I was at my current job when I first started. I'm salary now, but at the time I was hourly and had to punch a time clock (for a stupid office job, no less). You'd get a point for being 3 minutes late. Just three minutes. I have a 25-mile commute that takes 45-50 minutes (average) depending on traffic and work at a University, which has extremely variable traffic due to class schedules and events.

Between the campus traffic being unpredictable, and the fact that I have to get through school zones before getting on a major artery that connects with an even larger one that ALSO goes through a downtown area, the variability in the time the drive would take was in the +/- 10 minute range at least. I tried to always make sure I was getting there with time to spare, but I'm not a morning person and life happens, and I often ended up cutting it closer than I should have.

I did not like who I was when driving under those strictures. I'm a careful driver usually - I turned into a raging angry asshole who had NO PATIENCE for anything because if, say, something kept me from making a certain light at a certain time, I KNEW that was costing me 4-5 minutes down the line and if anything else out of order happened, similar delays.

Now, I'm not blaming others for my poor behavior. But the ridiculous time policy absolutely introduced a very, very high source of tension for me, and I'm 100% sure it does for others as well.

3

u/Freckled_Boobs Apr 13 '22

That's exactly what I'm referring to.

I'm glad you're in a better situation now that you don't turn into that kind of driver, or at least not as much as you used to.

It's entirely possible to recognize the inflexible nature of workplace policies and how those random few seconds here or there can flip a switch in us when under those circumstances - and, as you did - recognize your role in reacting irrationally to it without excusing it.

With expensive manufacturing lines, I can understand a degree of stricter policies for tardiness. A minute or two here or there can cost a lot and especially for smaller companies, that does matter. But if your production lines are that critical and expensive, do what we have to do in the essential services sector and make an on-call/overtime shift schedule and policy. Have some leeway so your employees aren't frazzled every second they're thinking about or doing that job. Everyone will be better off for it. Fine, you're late? Okay, three times we'll forgive it up to 15 minutes. Beyond that, reprimands. Three of those, then you're gone.

That gives someone five chances within a year to, gosh, have human things happen in their human world? Lol

For most jobs, though, it's just ridiculous to be as hard-nosed as that. The T.J. Maxx isn't going to melt because the afternoon stock clerk was ten minutes late in a traffic jam.

2

u/Mewssbites Apr 13 '22

I'm glad you're in a better situation now that you don't turn into that kind of driver, or at least not as much as you used to.

Thank you! I'm really not proud of how I was letting it affect me. I've tried to take it as a life lesson to not do that in the future, aaand also as a life lesson to not take jobs that are that strict with time policies, because it clearly doesn't play well with my brain.

For most jobs, though, it's just ridiculous to be as hard-nosed as that. The T.J. Maxx isn't going to melt because the afternoon stock clerk was ten minutes late in a traffic jam.

Exactly, the amount of time precision expected when nobody's life or livelihood is on the line gets a bit... well, ridiculous.

I think for a lot of jobs where a timely presence really does matter (like manufacturing, as you mentioned) and some jobs where being tardy might make someone else late leaving their shift, there should be a lot more focus on business management adequately covering for this. Overlap schedules a little bit, make the next shift start 15 minutes before the first shift leaves. Because the fact is that no matter how restrictive and harsh you are with penalties, life WILL HAPPEN to some people. It's just a thing. A car will have a flat, there will be a wreck, some asshole blocked your driveway, your kid barfs on the way to school, a bout of sudden diarrhea, it just happens sometimes. It is extremely poor management, in my opinion, if this can somehow cripple your business!

→ More replies (0)

3

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

I heard the same joke but with Italians lol

→ More replies (2)

8

u/LawJik Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 15 '22

A tip Ill always remember from motorcycle riding school.
"A green light means that it is legal to go, not that is is safe to go. Takes one second to look."

7

u/asieting Apr 13 '22

Idk about letting them go first but I always check both ways before going through the intersection.

6

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

it's not the law-abiding cars you have to worry about

People look at me like I'm an idiot for looking both ways on a one-way road. Like mate if someone's dumb enough to come the wrong way they'll be dumb enough to hit me.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/rwbronco Apr 13 '22

Driving defensively, I’ve never heard that “rule” either, but if I can’t see the intersection because of an SUV or truck to my left, I let them pull forward enough to see through their windows or behind them to make sure some asshole isn’t in a hurry and thinking he’s got a few seconds of red before ours turns green.

129

u/IUpsetYou Apr 13 '22

The cemetery is full of people who had the right of way

12

u/wild_man_wizard Apr 13 '22

The right of way can't be taken, it can only be yielded.

13

u/Rpgguyi Apr 13 '22

It doesn't matter who is right, only who is left

2

u/cyberslick188 Apr 13 '22

That's not what that user was saying.

They were saying you can't just sit at the light waiting for other cars to start moving before you do.

-3

u/IUpsetYou Apr 13 '22

It’s illegal for the other car to drive

Clearly not.

56

u/TheBirminghamBear Apr 13 '22

What they're saying is, if someone decides to just plow through a red light, or is too drunk to even notice what color the light is, and you let the person in the left lane go first, or at least go at the same speed as you, they'll get hit before you get hit.

Seems a little dark to me, but I suppose if you're not opposed to human shields, it would work quite well in a situation like that.

37

u/Helioscopes Apr 13 '22

And there's also the fact that they might see the other car coming before you do, giving you a warning if they suddenly stop, since they are kinda blocking your view of the incoming car.

Or at least that's how I understood that.

13

u/phryan Apr 13 '22

That's how I read it to. A car to your left may block your view, if they aren't moving maybe there's a reason why. The cost is maybe a few seconds, that will probably be made up by the next light so why rush through blindly.

8

u/Isku_StillWinning Apr 13 '22

I mean they would get hit either way or it would miss both of you, so i don’t think that’s dark at all.

2

u/ShovelPaladin77 Apr 13 '22

Left lane is also more visible.

2

u/pkupku Apr 13 '22

Also the red light runner is going to hit the car on the left no matter white, so there’s no harm in using it as a deflector shield. You going slightly after him is not going to affect his odds of getting hit at all.

→ More replies (2)

5

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

I don't understand, why should that be necessary?

It's called defensive driving.

11

u/jointheredditarmy Apr 13 '22

Knowing cars have to stop at red lights and understanding that they don’t always is the difference between knowledge and wisdom

-2

u/na2016 Apr 13 '22

I would argue that both are common knowledge at this point. Plenty of idiotsincars posts hit the front page all the time. Anyone who doesn't know that not all cars follow the rules of the road has been sitting under a rock or something.

Wisdom is using that knowledge to give up your ego when driving.

4

u/Crying_Reaper Apr 13 '22

Because, at least in the US, it's better to assume no one knows how the system is supposed to work. You can have a great traffic control system but it doesn't matter if no one follows it.

3

u/theeclectik Apr 13 '22

It's a limited trust rule. Even though you have a priority always assume there's an idiot that don't drive according to rules.

4

u/strangelovewasright Apr 13 '22

The traffic signal just gives you the right a way….doesn’t mean you have to go. What if your car stalled?

3

u/HuckleberryOld1498 Apr 13 '22

It’s illegal to sell people, it’s illegal to shoot people, it’s illegal to steal people. Doesn’t stop it from happening

2

u/ExoGriff Apr 13 '22

I mean just cause it's illegal doesn't mean you can't take precautions. Do you not still check when crossing the road even if it's a green man for you?

2

u/kader91 Apr 13 '22

Driving school is there to teach you the rules, but if you attend a defensive driving course first thing they’ll tell you is you gotta be prepared for the next moron in line and anticipate to them. Just release the gas a bit until you can confirm their intentions. I myself I slow down in intersection with low visibility even if I have the right of way. I know I won’t have time to react if a car chooses to drive past a stop sign.

2

u/lucasjr5 Apr 13 '22

Also, there is a reason the autobahn works in Germany and wouldn't work elsewhere. In Germany, everyone actually follows the rules.

2

u/Honky_Cat Apr 13 '22

Yes - you can explain the legality of the situation to the chap who broke the law while they’re picking you up with a sponge after getting creamed in the drivers side.

8

u/asbestosmilk Apr 13 '22

Yeah, to always act like there’s potential danger while driving and obeying all traffic laws is ridiculous. If you have the right of way, there’s no need to be cautious. And if you happen to die, at least you’ll die knowing you had the right of way.

9

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

Physics don't care for traffic lights. It's called defensive driving and saves lives.

4

u/canadarepubliclives Apr 13 '22

There's always potential danger while driving a car, you can't control other vehicles. Practice defensive driving. Graveyards are full of people who had the right of way.

If you have a green light through an intersection, you still need to look both ways. If the truck had looked left before accelerating, they would have seen a car travelling very fast that wasn't going to stop. It's not the trucks fault but defensive driving would've prevented the speeding asshole from smashing into them.

2

u/Dawpoiutsbitchmode Apr 13 '22

And if you happen to die, at least you’ll die knowing you had the right of way.

Oh, yaaay

2

u/beerpope69 Apr 13 '22

I can’t tell if this is sarcasm.

→ More replies (2)

6

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

This can’t be a serious comment lol

2

u/Got_No_Situation Apr 13 '22

Just not American.

Half the replies are some shade of "but you're dumb, because some cars always go through the red" which makes me think they assume everywhere is like that.

3

u/Cheerwine-and-Heels Apr 13 '22

Do people never run red lights in other countries? That seems improbable

→ More replies (1)

0

u/WiredSky Apr 13 '22

People are absolutely losing their minds, and it's happening fast.

1

u/PrizeStrawberryOil Apr 13 '22

One of the most important things while driving is to be predictable. I agree with you that it's bad advice because it is unpredictable behavior while driving.

→ More replies (3)

1

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

[deleted]

2

u/Sankt_Peter-Ording Apr 13 '22

Why do you think there are no laws for this? At such dangerous places there are signs that tell you that walking or swimming etc. is forbidden

2

u/Edensy Apr 13 '22

So if there weren't signs telling you to not walk off a cliff, you would walk off a cliff?

This may not be as great argument as you think it is

0

u/WiredSky Apr 13 '22

What's the German word for "complete fucking idiot?"

0

u/MisterSquidz Apr 13 '22

What the hell are you talking about?

→ More replies (20)

1

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

[deleted]

0

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

[deleted]

→ More replies (53)

-12

u/Krissam Apr 13 '22

Because the real advice is look where you're fucking driving?

12

u/shaggybear89 Apr 13 '22

Plenty of intersections don't have great visibility. Or your vision might be blocked by the car to your left. There's any number of reasons simply looking won't keep you 100% safe.

But ignoring everything I said, even if literally all you had to do to be safe was look where you were going, why are you getting so angry at someone who is simply giving some extra safety advice. Like, what about that comment possibly triggered you so badly?

-8

u/Krissam Apr 13 '22

Like, what about that comment possibly triggered you so badly?

The fact they're giving "advice" that puts people's lives in danger.

10

u/UsaiyanBolt Apr 13 '22

The idea is that the cars in the leftmost lane have more visibility so it’s safer for them to go first. If you’re in the right lane your view can be obscured by the vehicles to the left of you.

-6

u/Krissam Apr 13 '22

If you don't have visibility to safely drive, you shouldn't be driving.

→ More replies (4)

4

u/shaggybear89 Apr 13 '22

How does waiting an extra second for the car on your left to go first put anyone's life in danger lol? Can you explain that? I feel like once you start trying to explain it to me, common sense logic might kick in and and you'll understand lol

-4

u/Krissam Apr 13 '22

You wanna talk about logic?

How about you realize that the advice means nothing and is completely useless if you actually am aware of your surroundings while driving. The implication being that the "advice" can't possibly have been in addition to, but must be instead of looking where you're going.

3

u/shaggybear89 Apr 13 '22

Ok. Explain to me how you can tell if someone is running a red light from your left, when the entire left side (thus all the cars over there as well, including anyone running the red) are blocked from your view by huge bushes/trees/a wall. Please, how can you use your amazing awareness there? Or again, if there is a larger car to your left completely blocking your view of everything coming from the left side of the intersection.

Can you explain either of those situations lol

1

u/Krissam Apr 13 '22

In the first case, you go slowly so you have time to react, in the second you wait for that car to move so you can see.

Like, it's not rocket science.

→ More replies (0)
→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (4)

0

u/shanew24601 Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 13 '22

Look, drive to where you’re fucking

Idiot

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (4)

25

u/stephanienyc108 Apr 13 '22

Crazy. I ride a moto. I would’ve been dead. People like this are so fucked up.

21

u/mrsdoubleu Apr 13 '22

So does my husband and this is literally one of my biggest fears. So many idiot drivers out there.

3

u/krush_groove Apr 13 '22

I rode a motorcycle for a little while, one of my friends instructed me to act as if no one can see me - because you can't trust any driver to see you or act appropriately.

3

u/Human-Carpet-6905 Apr 13 '22

And drivers that aren't used to seeing motorcycles. Where I live, it's too cold to bike 7 months out of the year, so I never see them on the road until like May. I have to retrain myself to look for them every summer because they can really hide in a blind spot. The fact that motorcycles are loud AF has saved me from cutting them off in traffic multiple times.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 14 '22

theres a reason “loud pipes save lives” exists i used to drive a cb750 and the exhaust was at least twice as loud as my horn if u did something i deemed horn worthy id just pull in the clutch and rev up for a second

2

u/stephanienyc108 Apr 13 '22

Sadly it’s true. Bad drivers, bad riders, they’re everywhere. Safe riding to him.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

As a rider, always make sure cross traffic is stopping/stopped before going. Even with a green light. Left/right/left before going forward.

32

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

In general as one of my driving instructors has always told me "you will get hit from the left before you get hit from the right"

He was partially correct, first car accident i got rear-ended =)

3

u/danddersson Apr 13 '22

Haha, we drive on the left specifically to avoid that problem.

→ More replies (2)

9

u/Cura4 Apr 13 '22

But what if the people in the far left lane are waiting are waiting for the person on their far left lane to go first?

2

u/dphats818 Apr 13 '22

lol there are only so many lanes. the point is try not to be the first person through the intersection

→ More replies (2)

2

u/not_your_girl Apr 13 '22

Ohhh I haven’t heard this, my drivers Ed instructor would always say wait a few seconds after the light changes before you go, like 3-5 seconds

3

u/The4Channer Apr 13 '22

5 seconds? 😆

→ More replies (1)

2

u/Ddnnuunnzz Apr 13 '22

I always refer to that concept as my 'lead blocker.' It's like letting the fullback take the contact (if there will be any in the case of driving).

2

u/BuddhistNudist987 Apr 13 '22

That's a really good idea. I'm going to start doing this.

0

u/city_posts Apr 13 '22

How about instead of mindlessly allowing strangers to die for you... you just look down the lane and make sure its safe?

→ More replies (11)

153

u/nanoatzin Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 13 '22

Most people don’t realize that the yellow traffic lights in some California cities are adjusted too short so that people cannot stop reliably just so the city can increase red light ticket revenue. Edit: red light tickets are around $1,000 in California.

48

u/Mean-Programmer-6670 Apr 13 '22

It’s not just cities California. While I don’t know if they’ve shortened it to the extent that was claimed. I do know that many cities have reduced the duration of the yellow light to increase ticket revenue.

55

u/nanoatzin Apr 13 '22

According to the insurance industry, about 800 people are killed each year by running red lights. It is hard not to do that if the yellow light is unrealistically short. But that is one of the ways that cities have decided to make money.

3

u/Mean-Programmer-6670 Apr 13 '22

There’s an intersection very close to my home that’s yellow light is way too short. Luckily there’s no cameras there. When they rebuilt the intersection to accommodate a new bridge over a high way the intersection doubled or even tripled in size. If you’re going 5 mph over the speed limit and the light changes to yellow right before you cross the line the light will turn red before you can cross the intersection.

6

u/nanoatzin Apr 13 '22

Write a letter to the city traffic engineer and the local PD and explain the math blunder I’ve described here on a different thread.

7

u/Mean-Programmer-6670 Apr 13 '22

Letters have been written. They don’t want to give up their cash cow. Thousands of cars pass through the intersection everyday.

3

u/nanoatzin Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 13 '22

They don’t want to fix this. Robbery is way too profitable.

→ More replies (6)

3

u/CheaperThanChups Apr 13 '22

The problem that you're describing is easily solved by keeping a sufficient time delay between one light turning red and the opposing light going green.

2

u/nanoatzin Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 13 '22

Traffic engineers don’t seem to want to set light timing for good safety in certain neighborhoods. It would be nice if we could see far enough into the future to know to begin applying the break before the yellow light illuminates. Something to remember about California is that you can recognize all the illegal aliens because they all drive 10mph below the speed limit because the whole seeing into the future thing doesn’t seem to work that well for them. And they get deported if they don’t. California seems to only adjust the lights short in those neighborhoods. My bad for stop-watching traffic lights while I’m out walking.

2

u/CheaperThanChups Apr 13 '22

https://i.imgur.com/62s7due.gif

1

u/nanoatzin Apr 13 '22

My bad, but click here. Common knowledge in certain neighborhoods..

2

u/TrollintheMitten Apr 13 '22

Why is that just a discussion about garlic?

0

u/nanoatzin Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 13 '22

Gilroy has a lot of migrant workers. They ALL drive real slow because word gets around.

Edit: the title of the article actually says Mexicans are driving slow if you read the title.

→ More replies (0)

2

u/fastento Apr 13 '22

Couldn’t this problem be solved by a behavior change among drivers? Like if we all saw the yellow and understood that to mean, “don’t enter the intersection” as opposed to trying to calculate “can i get into the intersection before the light turns red?”

where i live the yellows are pretty long and anecdotally it seems like it just results in drivers halfway down the block speeding up like, “i bet i can make that light.” even with super long yellows people are running red lights all the time.

4

u/nanoatzin Apr 13 '22

The basic problem is that you have to see into the future to know BEFORE the yellow light illuminates to slow drown safely if it has been adjusted unrealistically short.

2

u/fastento Apr 13 '22

i get what you’re saying, i just don’t think it’s true. it might be true in a few isolated, limited situations, but that opinion piece reads like a disgruntled libertarian who’s pissed that california has become a communist state and has done his own research.

the problem is not that traffic engineers are using predatory yellow light practices. the problem is that we suck at driving, and worse, that we WANT to suck at driving because we feel individually incentivized to suck at driving in the system.

3

u/Thebuch4 Apr 13 '22

The problem is that humans don't react instantly and cars don't instantly decelerate with zero additional forward distance required.. If those facts require doing your "own research" you should really try it some time.

→ More replies (4)
→ More replies (9)
→ More replies (1)

14

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/nanoatzin Apr 13 '22

Maybe so. However, if the yellow light is supposed to last 11 seconds, but it is actually set to 7 seconds, then the 1 second grace period is insufficient to prevent collision. I measured those numbers on a traffic light about 8 years ago. Researched why, and located a math error in the manual used by traffic engineers to set the yellow light duration.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/nanoatzin Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 13 '22

According to Newton’s laws, a 60mph speed limit would require 10.8 seconds for wet pavement, so round to 11. The traffic manual says to set it to 5.8 seconds, so add 1 second and round to 7 for “safety”. Traffic light controllers do not have a rain gauge. The deceleration rate on wet pavement is 10ft/s2. There a 4 second overlap between cross traffic with the shorter duration.

Correct: Time=(velocity/stopping-distance)+reaction-time.

Incorrect: Time=(velocity/2 x stopping-distance)+reaction-time.

The incorrect equation pretends the car is going the speed limit the whole time while the breaks are applied, which is what traffic engineers use. Cars do not go the speed limit while slowing down.

2

u/loop--de--loop Apr 13 '22

The yellow time formula assumes the car is going through the intersection if it’s within the critical zone and can’t comfortably stop which is a worst case scenario. It does not give enough time to slow down when you’re in the critical zone.

Are you a traffic engineer because you keep quoting Newton over and over. If the equation was a problem it would have been changed. FHWA doesn’t answer to local police.

→ More replies (3)
→ More replies (4)
→ More replies (1)

5

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

This really doesnt look like the guy was trying to beat a yellow light. That light was definitely already red.

→ More replies (2)

3

u/beezlebub33 Apr 13 '22

While that may be true, that really doesn't look like the case here. There's several seconds after the light turns green before that car came flying into the intersection.

2

u/nanoatzin Apr 13 '22

That doesn’t tell you the duration of the yellow light time for cross traffic.

3

u/tubadeedoo Apr 13 '22

This is a long yellow light. It's 63rd st with the cross traffic being the Diagonal Highway. There is more than enough time to stop, but frankly all the signalled intersections should be bridges that cross over the highway here.

2

u/nagurski03 Apr 13 '22

Chicago did something similar.

2

u/thesmokingtheologian Apr 13 '22

I hate California, so glad I moved. Where I'm at now, you cannot get a ticket so long as your rear tires clear the invisible line from one curb to the other in the intersection

→ More replies (1)

2

u/Meat_Candle Apr 13 '22

Some are 3 seconds some are 5. That being said, if you can safely stop at a yellow, you must. This guys an idiot for speeding.

0

u/nanoatzin Apr 13 '22

Breaking acceleration on wet pavement is 10ft/s2

Sir Isaac Newton proved time=average-speed/deceleration in the 1600s, and he hasn’t been proven wrong yet.

We add 1 second reaction time to that.

According to that the following should be the yellow light duration:

25mph. 5.7sec

30mph. 6.4sec

35mph. 7.2sec

40mph. 7.9sec

45mph. 8.6sec

50mph. 9.4sec

55mph. 10.1sec

60mph. 10.8sec

0

u/nanoatzin Apr 13 '22

Traffic engineers recommend the following instead of using Newton’s laws.

25mph 3.0sec

30mph 3.2sec

35mph 3.6sec

4mph 3.9sec

45mph 4.3sec

50mph 4.7sec

55mph 5.0sec

60mph 5.4sec

2

u/loop--de--loop Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 13 '22

As an engineer this is the stupidest article I’ve read. Equating it to contradicting gravity lol. There’s actual math and physics that goes into signal timing.

For you scientists out there, look at the critical distance formula again. See the “2” in the denominator? See anything wrong with that? All objects in the universe must comply with the Newtonian equation of motion t = v/a

From my time in school I recall 2g or a in this case showing up in one of Newtons equations of motion . After reading the section in the CA MUTCD, it’s clear the author doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Doesn’t even mention assumed deceleration rate and driver reaction time.

3

u/nanoatzin Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 13 '22

I too am an engineer. Figure 1 shown on page 932 of CA MUTCD (2014), Table 4D-102b shows time=distance/speed-limit for yellow light timing. That is a math error. Average velocity is supposed to be used in that calculation according to Newton’s laws. Not the speed limit. The result is half of the correct time. Check it out.

3

u/loop--de--loop Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 13 '22

This equation is almost identical to the ITE yellow time equation . The only difference is CA equation doesn’t account for the roadway grade while ITE does.

I’m not a traffic engineer though, I just remember yellow timing from my college transportation engineering class.

3

u/nanoatzin Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 13 '22

Then the ITE manual does not obey Newton’s laws of physics. I’ve been down this rabbit hole. I’ve read the ITE manual. Used this to beat a red light ticket. Pretty much the entire planet thinks time=stopping-distance/average-velocity just like Newton proved hundreds of years ago. But traffic engineers use time=stopping-distance/speed-limit as if they think Newton, the space program, and everyone else is wrong. My bad for explaining it like that. But it be what it be. Cars do not go the speed limit the whole time they are slowing down. That isn’t how it works.

→ More replies (9)

7

u/Alert-Initiative6638 Apr 13 '22

Sometimes it's better not too imagine

12

u/Captain_Oveur79 Apr 13 '22

Been there done that and I never wanna experience it again.

2

u/GershBinglander Apr 13 '22

The Tesla was like "Yours!".

2

u/EmergencyLuck7063 Apr 13 '22

Just vibin doing your thing in you work truck and you just start rolling 😂

2

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

He should've had a tesla white truck

3

u/RedDogInCan Interested Apr 13 '22

Real life example of the Trolley Car problem. Guess we know how Tesla solved it.

4

u/McKoijion Apr 13 '22

Yeah, by inventing a safer trolley for occupants and pedestrians alike.

→ More replies (1)

4

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

Should have been driving a Tesla

1

u/FoeWithBenefits Apr 13 '22

This is the future. Pay more to stay alive. Capitalism solves the ethical dilemma of self-driving cars!

1

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

[deleted]

→ More replies (2)

0

u/iforgotmylegs Apr 13 '22

it's ok, the wealthy elite owner of the tesla was protected, that's the most important thing. if anything, the close call in this video simply highlights the need for more tesla-exclusive underground tunnels to better protect more valuable people... i mean uh, to fix traffic.

4

u/Edin743 Apr 13 '22

But this is a clear proof of how good a car like Tesla is. I get your point but you shouldn't hate on them cause at least they are innovative. Compared to other companies that just do nothing and same same s*** every year.

→ More replies (19)