Despite all the Tesla’s technology and sensors, Tesla drivers must follow the rules of the road and common sense.
Presumed Bay Area resident and Redditor /u/HighwayStarJ posted up dashcam footage from Santa Clara, CA to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit showing the surprising moment when a Tesla Model Y driver attempted to make a left turn from the right lane across cross traffic with the right of way.
Check out the surprising dashcam capture below. Warning, OP does swear (NSFW.)
“Sorry for the language. I was…really upset,” /u/HighwayStarJ apologizes.
The incident happened in the 200 block of Saratoga Ave. in Santa Clara, CA across from the Lucky Grocery store shopping center (exact location on Google Maps linked here with a screenshot of the area below.)
As you can see in the dashcam footage, OP is driving along Saratoga Ave., technically speeding, reaching a top speed of 45 MPH. The speed limit in this area is only 35 MPH.
To his right, he spots a driver in a Tesla Model Y attempt to make a left turn into, presumably, the center turn lane, from the right lane of this two lane street.
The problem is, he’s turning directly in front of him.
If OP hadn’t slowed, he would’ve T-boned the Tesla Model Y.
While Tesla’s suite of safety assistance technology is quite good when it comes to Auto Pilot and overall crash avoidance, it’s not foolproof.
Tesla drivers must still be ready to take control at any moment and, in this case, its systems can’t protect you from making harebrained maneuvers like this one.
“Cameras and mirrors don’t help unless you look at them,” /u/Morall_tach commented.
Making a left turn from the right lane like this increases the likelihood of an accident and is most likely against the law the California Vehicle Code,)
Regardless, when turning left, you’re supposed to yield to traffic with the right of way (e.g., OP in the left lane.)
“Man, right off San Tomas. I was just right near there on El Camino Real when we had a moron in a Tesla decide to blow through a protected turn red because they didn’t want to wait I guess. This is 100% main character syndrome” /u/NavyDevilDoc corroborated.
“I 100% assume of all Teslas are driven by mush brained idiots, usually serves me well,” /u/Yurmamma replied.
“That wouldn’t have happened had they been wearing their Apple vision pro goggles!,” /u/Most-Revolution-7108 sarcastically added.
Regardless of how technologically advanced your car is, the driver and his actions sans driver’s assistance aids, are still (and will probably remain) the largest contributing factor to one’s own driving safety.
That means obeying the rules of the road, driving defensively, and using best practices, in this case actually looking with your eyes (checking your rearview mirrors, side mirrors, and over your shoulder) before any turns, lane changes, etc.
