The ongoing Elon Twitter saga: "insert demographic" melts down

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The range will be awful in cold weather. Pound for pound the cyber truck is worse than a 21 year old fiat panda. The cyber truck is just far too heavy.

50% heavier than a Land Rover. That’s part of the reason why it’s so dangerous to (American) pedestrians.
 
False, just checked and it comes with autopilot and the specs state there are front, rear and side parking sensors. There's also lane keeping, lane departure warning, front collision warning and automatic emergency steering.

I think what's getting muddled here is simply that they've forgone a front radar sensor for a camera... kinda moot given the camera now fulfills that role and it can still apply the safety features mentioned.

So back to the actual point being made, it's not a dumb vehicle, it has sensors and cameras and it has some level of automation/self-driving thus the point re: safety.

Cameras are, and always will be, a poor substitute for radar/ultrasonic (for people/object detection, not even going into 'self driving', yet), most of those aids you mentioned are aimed at vehicle lane keeping and detecting collisions with other vehicles/walls, nothing to do with pedestrian safety which is what is the alleged issue with Cybertruck.

As for Teslas in any form and self-driving... They have a beta of a basic Level 2 driver assistant, they do not have a self-driving capability nor will any Tesla current produced or announced manage such a feat.
 
If it's classed as a light truck in the US it's subject to different regulations than cars.

Not really allowed in Europe but it may well turn out to be less deadly though regardless as obvs current regulations are for dumb vehicles without fancy sensors, self driving etc..
Musk has been "dumbing" down the teslas already dumb sensors...

There are issues with the current ones since he removed the "unnecessary" sonar based close in detection as "cameras are enough" (please ignore the fact that they're blinded by the sun and have massive blind spots due to positioning), so they're unable to spot a human in a well lit garage, or spot things like fence posts or low walls behind them.

There is no way a vehicle with zero thought to pedestrian impact will get approval in the EU, even EU trucks are designed with pedestrian safety in mind, it's one of the reasons we have the "cab over engine" designs, they allow the driver to have a much smaller blind spot directly in front of the vehicle, meanwhile US SUV's are hitting the point where forget about seeing a small child, you can't see a small car if it's too close to your front bumper.
I'm not joking, there is at least one combination of SUV and currently for sale small car where the SUV driver cannot see it, and an increasing number of SUV's where the driver cannot see a small adult if they're directly in front of them, it's one of the reasons the US has been seeing an increase in the number of children killed in road accidents, especially around the house, the drivers litterally cannot see a child, someimes for several feet in front of them. The solution that some companies are going for is to fit "front cameras" (which at least are being fitted to actually see the front of the car to remove that blind spot, unlike Tesla's).

50% heavier than a Land Rover. That’s part of the reason why it’s so dangerous to (American) pedestrians.
IIRC in the UK you'd need either an older (re 97 I think) driving licence where it defaulted to 3.5 ton vans, or to pass an additional test to get category for that weight just to drive it, and I suspect our insurance companies will look at it and go "nope" or "we'll insure you, if you really want. That'll be several thousands of pounds a year please, you do have a clean record don't you?".
 
IIRC in the UK you'd need either an older (re 97 I think) driving licence where it defaulted to 3.5 ton vans, or to pass an additional test to get category for that weight just to drive it, and I suspect our insurance companies will look at it and go "nope" or "we'll insure you, if you really want. That'll be several thousands of pounds a year please, you do have a clean record don't you?".

Blimey I hadn't realised how heavy it was until I saw this comment and went and looked it up.
Thats going to be bloody lethal for anyone getting hit by it, although I think even Musk has made comment on that, "its the safest truck on the road for the occupants" or something along those lines.
 
I'm not joking, there is at least one combination of SUV and currently for sale small car where the SUV driver cannot see it, and an increasing number of SUV's where the driver cannot see a small adult if they're directly in front of them, it's one of the reasons the US has been seeing an increase in the number of children killed in road accidents, especially around the house, the drivers litterally cannot see a child, someimes for several feet in front of them. The solution that some companies are going for is to fit "front cameras" (which at least are being fitted to actually see the front of the car to remove that blind spot, unlike Tesla's).
The cybertruck has a front bumper camera, and considering the last SW update brough (at last) 3D Area Mapping for slow speed manoeuvring, the cybertruck might have proximity detection in a pretty good state..

The fact he removed the US sensors from the front of the M3/MY was absolutely stupid, even with the latest HD Area Mapping, it still has a blind spot that can't ever be filled in..

Everyone thought the new Model 3 highland would have the front bumper cam, but last minute it was removed, which again is just a bizarre decision, because whilst some cars still don't even have front parking sensors, having the illusion of front sensing is probably worse..

The weight/performance aspects all sound a bit whiney.. "Just think of the children".. sure.. well lets set some actual limits then, minimum deceleration rates, maximum acceleration rates, etc, etc. there are so many inappropriate cars out there in terms of power, size, weight, that I'm fine if limits want to be set, but odd how when complaints about the Rivian R1T for the same reasons seemingly got ignored but when Musk does it, all hell breaks loose..
 
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Pedestrian killer? In what way is it more deadly than a Ford ranger? Or a Land Rover?

The shape of the front of the vehicle and the fact the thick stainless steel has zero give in it. The bonnet of a standard vehicle with its 0.6mm steel skin has give if your head hits it. The Cyber truck has 1.8mm stainless with zero give. Go hit your head against concrete and then against something that has some flex.
 
Pedestrian safety is about sharp edges, height of edges, head and body impact points, cushioning of impact points i.e. the deformability of the materials, structures underneath. external airbags and measures not to throw the person either onto or under the car.

Weight is irrelevant, the issue with the Cybertruck twofold, the first being the very sharp angles, the second is Stainless steel won't deform in an impact with a pedestrian therefore they will be significantly more likely to die.
 
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Pedestrian safety is about sharp edges, height of edges, head and body impact points, cushioning of impact points i.e. the deformability of the materials, structures underneath. external airbags and measures not to throw the person either onto or under the car.

Weight is irrelevant, the issue with the Cybertruck twofold, the first being the very sharp angles, the second is Stainless steel won't deform in an impact with a pedestrian therefore they will be significantly more likely to die.

Yeh, i mean if I had the choice of being hit by a deforming plastic bumper and relatively thick stainless steel, i know which one i would pick :p
 
The weight/performance aspects all sound a bit whiney.. "Just think of the children".. sure.. well lets set some actual limits then, minimum deceleration rates, maximum acceleration rates, etc, etc. there are so many inappropriate cars out there in terms of power, size, weight, that I'm fine if limits want to be set, but odd how when complaints about the Rivian R1T for the same reasons seemingly got ignored but when Musk does it, all hell breaks loose..

Weight actually can help braking as its more force into the tyres so more friction. The new Ford Mustang Dark Horse has just taken the crown for production car stopping distance and its weight is a big help, along with those amazing brakes.

 
Pedestrian safety is about sharp edges, height of edges, head and body impact points, cushioning of impact points i.e. the deformability of the materials, structures underneath. external airbags and measures not to throw the person either onto or under the car.

Weight is irrelevant, the issue with the Cybertruck twofold, the first being the very sharp angles, the second is Stainless steel won't deform in an impact with a pedestrian therefore they will be significantly more likely to die.
Yep, Because Musk, who isn't an engineer as Roar87 would have us believe, tasked his team with making it that way

You can see this in the video where Top Gear interviewed the engineers.
 
Cameras are, and always will be, a poor substitute for radar/ultrasonic (for people/object detection, not even going into 'self driving', yet), most of those aids you mentioned are aimed at vehicle lane keeping and detecting collisions with other vehicles/walls, nothing to do with pedestrian safety which is what is the alleged issue with Cybertruck.

As for Teslas in any form and self-driving... They have a beta of a basic Level 2 driver assistant, they do not have a self-driving capability nor will any Tesla current produced or announced manage such a feat.

There's literally a YouTube video posted in reply to your other post showing someone let a Tesla cybertruck drive him around! There are different levels of self-driving but even then I don't think you can make that claim, firstly in the general sense it's already false, some level of self-driving is absolutely possible with these trucks already and future self-driving capabilities can be improved upon with a software update. More to the point here as far as the AI safety functionality is concerned, that self-driving (or I guess self-stopping!) aspect is all included regardless of whether autopilot or FSD beta is opted for.

Debate all you want re: a front camera vs radar but the point being made is re: safety and that it's not a dumb truck, it's a smart truck with sensors and cameras and self-driving functionality. It's not an "alleged issue" either it's just a fact that it wouldn't be permitted in Europe currently, the regs that apply to it are ones developed for dumb trucks, so the shape and height of the vehicle, the angles on it etc.. things like being able to see a kid when parking, would make a truck like this less safe as a dumb truck but that's not necessarily the case when you consider those things (which current regs don't!).

That's not to say it couldn't be safer if it had been designed as a dumb truck would, meeting the regs irrespective of the additional features that make it even safer but the point is that it could well be safer than such a truck regardless of it having a more dangerous shape as it does have these safety features and they're not all exclusively for other vehicles either.
 
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The shape of the front of the vehicle and the fact the thick stainless steel has zero give in it. The bonnet of a standard vehicle with its 0.6mm steel skin has give if your head hits it. The Cyber truck has 1.8mm stainless with zero give. Go hit your head against concrete and then against something that has some flex.

What scenario do you envisage where someone's head hits a moving truck and they survive based on the material of the truck? If a truck hits your head you are dead unless it's moving slowly, in which case, why is your head there?
 
Blimey I hadn't realised how heavy it was until I saw this comment and went and looked it up.
Thats going to be bloody lethal for anyone getting hit by it, although I think even Musk has made comment on that, "its the safest truck on the road for the occupants" or something along those lines.

Should have gone to Specsavers: "Yes, we are highly confident that Cybertruck will be much safer per mile than other trucks, both for occupants and pedestrians"


FWIW I don't think much of the person being quote'd arguments re: the shape of the front, both seem dangerous but the argument re: AI + cameras/sensors being safer than human drivers is so obvious I'm surprised people are taking issue with it (and I do wonder if they still would if not for Elon/bad spaceship man). The smart vehicle and pedestrian safety features still apply here regardless of whether or not the customer opts to have autopilot or FSD beta installed so I don't think arguments over what exact level of self-driving it has hold much water either, all models have the (relevant) safety features.

I think we'll see more Luddite style takes on AI as it becomes ubiquitous, it seems like it should be obvious that AI can vastly improve on the current state of road safety where many accidents are caused by inattentive or careless driving but people don't seem to fully appreciate to what extent. What ought to be obvious here; that cameras/sensors make issues re: visibility less relevant and automation/self-driving aimed at preventing accidents from occuring in the first place makes the less safe shape of the truck less important too. That's not to say it can't be even safer, obviously, it could be but don't underestimate how much of an impact not having anywhere near as many motorway accidents, not bumping into kids when parking or at pedestrian crossings etc.. in the first place could have on the stats.
 
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What scenario do you envisage where someone's head hits a moving truck and they survive based on the material of the truck? If a truck hits your head you are dead unless it's moving slowly, in which case, why is your head there?
Exactly. Bring back the jaquar and Mercedes stiff logo on the bonet. If the person gets hit they are already dead, and if not, why was their body in the way of that poor person's vehicle.
 
What scenario do you envisage where someone's head hits a moving truck and they survive based on the material of the truck? If a truck hits your head you are dead unless it's moving slowly, in which case, why is your head there?

Hmm lets think about this. A vehicle hits you at waist height, your body can bend from the waist to high angles. As your waist is thrown forward by the impact your head being quite heavy comes down and hits the bonnet. Did I really need to explain that, its simple physics.



 
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Hmm lets think about this. A vehicle hits you at waist height, your body can bend from the waist to high angles. As your waist is thrown forward by the impact your head being quite heavy comes down and hits the bonnet. Did I really need to explain that, its simple physics.




Even you must realise that with Collision Avoidance Assist a Cybertruck is just going to be much safer than other vehicles on the road for the driver and pedestrians, irrespective of the shape or material, it will simply be far less likely to hit a pedestrian.
 
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