Faulty Door Handles Are Entrapping Individuals in Vehicles. Federal Authorities Are Now Taking Action.

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      On Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rejected a petition to look into the Tesla Model 3’s emergency door handles, which are considered difficult to find and unsafe in the event of a crash. However, in that decision, the agency committed to creating new regulations that will require a clear and dependable door egress system in all vehicles.

      It will take time to formulate these regulations; one expert interviewed by Bloomberg predicted that they may not be established as a new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard until at least 2030. Nonetheless, this marks a significant step forward, particularly given recent incidents.

      In recent years, numerous passengers have been trapped in crashed or burning cars, struggling to escape due to the malfunction of their vehicles’ electronic door handles and the challenge of locating the often concealed mechanical backups. Compounding the issue, these backup handles are typically situated inside the vehicles, complicating the work for first responders.

      Consider Rivian, for instance. For a rear-seat passenger in a newer R1S or R1T to access the emergency handles, they need to first remove a plastic cover that conceals a pull cord. Rivian allegedly recognized the potential problems this could create after implementing this design and opted not to hide the secondary handles in a similar manner in its newer R2 model. However, the R1 series continues to function this way, and there are currently no regulations compelling the company to amend it.

      Ideally, that would change following this rulemaking initiative. The NHTSA dismissed the petition regarding a defect concerning Tesla specifically because the system was functioning as intended, albeit with significant risks during emergencies. Instead, the agency is focusing on establishing future standards.

      “NHTSA does not believe that the issues presented by the Petitioner indicate the likelihood of a safety-related defect that would warrant a defect investigation, and the issue is best addressed through the rulemaking process,” the department's docket filed on Friday states.

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