Getting your
Trinity Audioplayer ready...By Dana Hull and Amy Stillman, Bloomberg
Auto safety regulators will start developing new requirements to ensure drivers and passengers can safely exit their vehicles, a significant move to address issues exposed by sometimes deadly incidents in which people have become trapped inside cars.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday that it would begin the process to impose a new federal rule, granting a petitioner’s request that the agency “mandate a robust and obvious door egress system in all motor vehicles,” according a regulatory filing. All new vehicles in the US would be subject to any new requirements, if finalized.
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Vehicles designed with flush, electrically operated door handles made by Tesla Inc. and other carmakers have been involved in a series of incidents in which occupants have been trapped inside their cars after the vehicles lost power, including after a crash. In several instances, occupants of Tesla vehicles survived the initial impact of a high speed crash only to die or sustain serious injury from subsequent fires after being unable to exit.
Bloomberg News has reported extensively on the modern door systems, uncovering at least 15 deaths in a dozen incidents in which occupants or rescuers were unable to open the doors of a Tesla that had crashed and caught fire. Bloomberg also reported late last year that Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk insisted on electric doors even after potential safety concerns were raised internally.
A Silicon Valley engineer submitted a petition to NHTSA in November asking the agency to issue new federal safety standards to address the safety risks. The action is needed, the petitioner wrote, to “address a critical, life-threatening safety gap” stemming from electronic or “hidden” door latching and release systems, which are common on electric vehicles.
NHTSA on Thursday said in the filing that it has granted the petition and will begin the rulemaking process. The decision was revealed in a filing that also denied a separate petitioner’s request for a safety defect investigation. The agency didn’t immediately respond to a request for additional details. Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment.
“It’s very significant that they are going to begin the rulemaking process, since this is the initial step that must be taken to create or modify Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to strengthen areas related to electric doors and egress,” said Michael Brooks, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety. But given how long the process can take, “I wouldn’t expect to see a final compliance date for manufacturers before 2030 even if the rulemaking proceeds swiftly.”
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The agency said it would decide whether to impose new requirements based on the information developed during the rulemaking process. It can take years to develop and finalize a new rule, and industry often pushes back against new safety mandates that impose additional costs.
Still, the decision adds to growing fallout over the incidents tied to electric door handles. US Representative Robin Kelly, an Illinois Democrat, introduced legislation earlier this year that would require manual door releases in new cars and means for first responders to gain access to vehicles when power is lost.
NHTSA in September opened a defect investigation into certain Tesla Model Y vehicles after receiving several complaints about children being trapped in vehicles.