China bans hidden door handles in EVs

[thewayne]

GOOD! I've always thought this was a stupid idea. It probably started with Tesla, and they certainly popularized it. While it saves a few hundredths of a percent in streamlining, it is deadly. The handles are, by definition, electronic. And if your car suffers a complete loss of electric power in a severe crash, then the occupants have to engage emergency manual overrides.

Well, guess what? After a severe crash, the occupants are NOT going to be in a calm state of mind! Do you know where the manual overrides are in the back seat of some Teslas? UNDER THE FLOORMATS. The front ones can be kind of fiddly to find, and a lot of people have died while others have tried rescuing them while being unable to get the damn doors open! Including the sister in law of the former Senate Majority Leader when she accidentally backed her Tesla into a cow pond because you have to change gears on a damn touch screen?!

A friend of mine owned the first generation Tesla Roadster. He kept a five pound sledge hammer in the glove box for such a situation.

The new requirement becomes law on January 1, 2027.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp37g5nxe3lo

Comments

Tesla safety

[ionelv]

Almost zero new cars sold in US have hand-cranked windows. BTW, all Teslas have mechanical door release. As to the danger of ending up in Tesla or any car underwater, I think it is a much smaller chance than being in a fatal road accident in which wearing seat belts and having a proper protective cage matters a lot more. Tesla model Y (their most popular model) is top rated on crash tests on par with (and even exceeds) top Mercedes models. I understand if people feel icky about owning or driving Tesla due to Elon factor, but to pretend that Tesla is less safe than other cars is something else.

Re: Tesla safety

[thewayne]

The problem is remembering how to open the door mechanically after a serious accident.  Your brain is never quite right.  If you haven't practiced it, you're probably in trouble.  And from the outside, if you don't have something that can physically get through the glass, it's very, very tough.

Re: Tesla safety

[conuly]

How is Tesla on pedestrian safety?

Re: Tesla safety

[thewayne]

That's a good question, and I don't know.  I would think that with the exception of the Cyber Truck, about average.  All trucks these days that are of ridiculous height are terrible for pedestrian safety.  My understanding is that Teslas do well for their occupant's safety, but because of the mass of EVs, the other cars tend to fare worse.  But that's true of probably all EV vs IC vehicle collisions: greater mass wins.