Photo: Caspar Huurdeman
Tesla Cars are famous for their resilience. Their crashworthiness has been proven time and time again, with many other vehicles falling victim to their strong build and considerable weight. In some cases, even semi trucks.
And it's a good thing they're made so tough because the last thing you want in a crash is a punctured battery, which is usually accompanied by a fire. If that doesn't happen, though, electric cars pose a very small risk of ignition, so they are generally speaking considered safer than those using internal combustion engines.
One Tesla Model S user in Holland took his faith in the vehicle a little too far yesterday morning when he crashed head-on into a tree. It happened in a rural area between Hilversum and Baarn, and no other vehicle was involved. According to more recent reports from Dutch publication RTV NH, it would appear the driver was doing 155 km/h (96 mph) at the time of the crash, which was very close to double the maximum speed allowed on that segment (80 km/h or 50 mph).
Police is still investigating the incident, so it is yet unknown what caused it. Given the circumstances, we can think of three possible explanations. An animal crossing the road sounds like the most likely one, considering the road was going through a forest. Then there's the always present possibility of human error, but the reports suggest it was a straight road section. This last bit of information, together with the very high speed, would support our third and final hypothesis, which is that of suicide.
The firefighters who arrived at the scene were unable to intervene due to the state of the vehicle. With the battery pack broken and battery cells lying on the floor, they were afraid there was a risk of electrocution. That forced them to keep their distance and simply contain the fire, leaving the vehicle to burn. The driver, 53-year-old Summer Hilver, was found dead on arrival and his body could not be extracted from the wreckage.
Tesla said it has launched a full investigation, but nothing has transpired so far. Furthermore, Tesla technicians were called to the scene of the accident to provide the firefighters their expertise on how to approach the vehicle safely. Of course, the question on everybody's lips was whether the Autopilot function was engaged at the time of the accident, and the answer appears to be "no." We'll keep you up to date as more information on the case is revealed.
One Tesla Model S user in Holland took his faith in the vehicle a little too far yesterday morning when he crashed head-on into a tree. It happened in a rural area between Hilversum and Baarn, and no other vehicle was involved. According to more recent reports from Dutch publication RTV NH, it would appear the driver was doing 155 km/h (96 mph) at the time of the crash, which was very close to double the maximum speed allowed on that segment (80 km/h or 50 mph).
Police is still investigating the incident, so it is yet unknown what caused it. Given the circumstances, we can think of three possible explanations. An animal crossing the road sounds like the most likely one, considering the road was going through a forest. Then there's the always present possibility of human error, but the reports suggest it was a straight road section. This last bit of information, together with the very high speed, would support our third and final hypothesis, which is that of suicide.
The firefighters who arrived at the scene were unable to intervene due to the state of the vehicle. With the battery pack broken and battery cells lying on the floor, they were afraid there was a risk of electrocution. That forced them to keep their distance and simply contain the fire, leaving the vehicle to burn. The driver, 53-year-old Summer Hilver, was found dead on arrival and his body could not be extracted from the wreckage.
Tesla said it has launched a full investigation, but nothing has transpired so far. Furthermore, Tesla technicians were called to the scene of the accident to provide the firefighters their expertise on how to approach the vehicle safely. Of course, the question on everybody's lips was whether the Autopilot function was engaged at the time of the accident, and the answer appears to be "no." We'll keep you up to date as more information on the case is revealed.
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