Fire prevented rescue of 3 victims in Piedmont car crash, authorities say – NBC Bay Area
www.nbcbayarea.com

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.crimedad.work/post/620960

This accident could be a scene in a horror movie.

I’m not a Tesla fan by any measure, but I edited the headline for this post. The original headline made it seem like a specific feature of the Cybertruck trapped the victims, but then the article explains it was really that the battery was burning so fiercely that the police just couldn’t free them. The deadly feature of the accident was the lithium battery, which is common to many makes and manufacturers of EVs.

    • remotelove@lemmy.caEnglish
      0·
      8 days ago

      BYD? I have heard quite a bit about those.

      The statistics I found quickly were a bit muddy and pointless to share. However, I am sure there is data out there, but I am too tired to look for it. I would bet that every manufacturer has seen at least one fire, but that is just a guess when I think about the thousands of vehicles that are in the wild.

      Teslas get the most attention because they are Teslas. TBH, I don’t think a battery fire in a Hyundai would get much attention by the press.

      • Cyborganism@lemmy.caEnglish
        0·
        7 days ago

        Yeah, they’re a Chinese manufacturer. One of the rare ones that were allowed to sell vehicles in most western countries.

        You’re probably right about the Teslas getting more media attention because Tesla, Elon Musk, etc. It gets more clicks than Hyundai for sure.

  • jonne@infosec.pubEnglish
    0·
    8 days ago

    Do these ones also come with the electronic door handles that don’t work when the car crashes?

    • PM_Your_Nudes_Please@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      6 days ago

      Yes. The doors are electronically controlled, and when the power goes out (like when the battery is on fire) the doors need to be manually overridden. The manual overrides are simple enough to find in the front. They blend in with the armrest, but it’s just a handle that you lift… But the rear overrides are hidden behind a rubber fake bottom in the door pocket. You need to pull out the rubber mat, dig through a plastic cover panel, and then pull a cord.

      And since you only really have about 20 panicked seconds to escape before the heat+fumes cook your brain, digging through door panels isn’t exactly the first thing people do. Most will spend all 20 seconds furiously trying to unlock the door using the method they’re used to.