On October 27th, @ Ideal Automobile released the "Explanation of the Hancheng Expressway Accident". The full text is as follows:
At 23:59 pm on July 27, 2023, a serious traffic accident occurred on the Weizhuang Expressway in Hancheng, Shaanxi Province. We feel deeply saddened and regretful for the casualties caused by the accident.
Since the accident occurred, Ideal Automobile has not responded positively because it was a clear unilateral accident. After the accident, we immediately cooperated with the traffic police to provide EDR (Vehicle Event Data Recording System) data. According to the feedback from the Judicial Appraisal Center for Traffic Accident Traces and Evidence of Shaanxi Chang'an University commissioned by the traffic police, it was confirmed that except for the driver, no other members in the vehicle were wearing seat belts. The appraisal conclusion is that there are no product quality issues with the vehicle and there is no problem of the vehicle being out of control. The car owner has received a traffic accident identification certificate.
Recently, the incident and related false information have been widely disseminated online, sparking questions from ideal car owners about product quality and safety. We are responsible for the majority of ideal car owners and are now providing answers to the key concerns of the car owner group:
Question 1: Does the vehicle's ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) function automatically activate and interfere with the driver's control of the vehicle?
-During driving, the vehicle did not activate the LKA (Lane Keeping) function, only the ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) function, so the driving direction is controlled by the driver.
-Based on the analysis of the vehicle's EDR (in vehicle event data recording system), 12 seconds before the collision, the right steering wheel lever triggered the activation of the ACC function. Subsequently, the vehicle drove from the left lane to the right lane at a speed of 103km/h, ultimately causing a serious collision between the right side of the vehicle and trees on the highway (with a diameter of approximately 38.5cm and a circumference of 121cm measured on-site). 0.5 seconds before the collision, the driver stepped on the accelerator pedal without braking action throughout the entire process.
Question 2: Why can rear passengers still activate the ACC function without wearing their seatbelts?
-There are a total of 4 people on board, and apart from the driver, all 3 passengers in the rear row have not fastened their seatbelts. Due to the driver setting up the "child seat linkage" function on the rear row, the system will no longer detect the status of the seatbelts in the rear row and will not restrict the use of auxiliary driving functions.
Question 3: Why did this accident cause severe damage to the right upper body of the vehicle?
-The vehicle rushed out of the highway at a speed of 103km/h (there is no outer guardrail on this section of the road), and then the vehicle was in a lateral attitude. The A-pillar collided directly with a tree with a diameter of approximately 38.5cm. Due to the special scenario, the main energy absorbing structures such as the vehicle threshold and longitudinal beams were not involved in the collision.