safety

Waymo’s autonomous electric taxis crash 68% less than the average human driver, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, with lower-severity crashes on average as well. But there are some important caveats that limit the data.

The Department of Transportation has removed bike lanes from its list of proven safety measure, among other changes which will worsen traffic congestion. The changes seem focused on making roads less safe for bicycles, when cyclist deaths are already near all time highs.

China will require automakers to include physical buttons for safety-related functions, pushing back on the proliferation of using screens for everything in modern cars.

China has officially moved forward with a proposed ban on flush EV door handles, with an effective date of January 1, 2027. The regulation will force a redesign of many EVs with sleek, electronically-actuated handles, a design popularized by Tesla.

Volvo parent company Geely is the latest Chinese EV to be put through the ringer by the European NCAP and Australian ANCAP, and its EX5 electric crossover aced both tests scoring an all-important five-star safety rating.

When it comes to greening up our transportation systems and reducing the massive carbon footprint left by our daily commutes, there’s a much better solution than trying to get everyone into an electric car. Encouraging increased cycling, whether on electric bikes or good old-fashioned acoustic bikes, has the biggest impact on reduced emissions and the health and well-being of our society. But with safety at the top of the list of concerns for those switching to a two-wheeled commute, more studies are showing that the best way to protect cyclists at the most dangerous point on their rides is to simply let them blow through stop signs in what is commonly known as an “Idaho stop”.

If you have protected bike lanes in your city, then you have a great reason to get out on a bicycle or e-bike and replace many car miles with fun, fresh air-filled joy rides. If your streets are mostly devoid of bike lanes though, then you may find the idea of riding alongside cars to be a daunting scenario.

You should never push yourself to ride somewhere you don’t feel comfortable, but if you do want to improve your city riding confidence on public roads, then these tips may be helpful for you.

The 2022-2023 Rivian R1T has earned the highest safety rating, Top Safety Pick+, from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Electric bicycle riders are often seen as responsible, eco-minded do-gooders making the selfless sacrifice of bike commuting to replace cars on the road and benefit us all, while motorcyclists are more commonly derided as organ-donating daredevils whose mere act of riding a motorcycle is considered an unnecessary risk.

But could things be backward? Could electric bikes actually be more dangerous than motorcycles?

Polestar’s parent company is Volvo, which is a pioneer in auto safety. The company is using the Polestar 2 EV to showcase the group’s latest safety tech. That includes the first use of new front-inner-side airbags and a new Acoustic Vehicle Alert System that warns pedestrians with a soundtrack similar to a heartbeat.

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Tesla released a blog post to defend itself against claims of “unintended acceleration” that is being reviewed by NHTSA. The automaker says that the petition was started by a TSLA short seller who is betting against the company.
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After Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the Model 3 last week and went through a few of the car’s features, it would have been difficult to find an EV enthusiast disappointed by the event. But now a week later, the automaker has been altering the language around the Model 3’s features and it has raised a few eyebrows.

Tesla changed the wording around the Model 3’s safety rating, Autopilot and Supercharging capabilities, which are arguably Tesla’s three best-selling points.
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Tesla is already calling the Model X “the safest SUV ever made”, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has yet to confirm its independent test ratings for the vehicle. Through its own internal testing of the vehicle, Tesla expects the Model X to become the first SUV to get 5-star rating in each of the safety categories.

The Model S surprised NHTSA 3 years ago when it first tested it and the car even broke the agency’s roof crushing machine during testing. Now, Tesla claimed they couldn’t even “flip” the Model X during testing, according to Dougherty analyst Andrea James who recently talked with the company.
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Tesla released its ‘Emergency Response Guide’ for the Model X and oddly enough, the literature intended for use by trained and certified rescuers and first responders give us one of the first good look at the Model X’s inner workings with schematics.
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DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, a Tesla Model S owner, had a car accident in Beverly Hills on Oct. 19. Little is known about the actual accident, but it was severe enough to break Katzenberg’s wrist, which required a surgery followed by a stay at the hospital.

Apparently the accident could have been much worse because Katzenberg felt the need to thank Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, for his car might have “saved his life.
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