ADAC warns against retractable door handles

Potsdam. The case against the driver of the Tesla accident, in which 18-year-old Laura Katharina Franke and Noèl-Maurice Philipp-Milde from Beelitz (Potsdam Mittelmark) died on August 16, 2022 in the district of Märkisch-Oderland, has. Again he made it clear: In the event of a serious accident – especially a fire – the doors of modern cars are often difficult for rescue workers to open. For passengers trying to free themselves from inside, the solid elements also pose deadly obstacles if in doubt.

Electric ignition systems, like those installed in many electric vehicles, can be a particular problem. The ADAC motoring club has now published a warning. Headline: “Retractable door hinges could be a safety hazard.” According to ADAC experts, the stylish handles, which can disappear into the body due to the cancellation of electricity, have problems: “Especially if the power supply is interrupted after an accident, the handle can remain behind and emergency helpers cannot reach the passengers. .

ADAC indirectly points the finger at Tesla

Doors should be opened easily and intuitively, write ADAC experts: “Even more so if there is a car fire” – as was the case with the tragic death of two young people from Beelitz in the back seat of a Tesla Model S. Even professional rescue workers would need longer, to reach the occupants with this type of door lock. ADAC cites “media reports” that point to the problem and avoids directly linking the east Berlin accident to the electric car manufacturer. However, the press release says: “Tesla has begun mass production of these handles,” and other manufacturers have followed suit.

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The warning message concludes with the advice that owners of vehicles whose doors can be opened electrically from the inside should have an emergency hammer ready to break the windows from the inside in an emergency. The hammer, as we know it from public buses, should be “easily but safely stored”. ADAC also mentions car brands. “For example, various models from Tesla, Nio or 7 Series BMW and iX” are affected, as the publication says. However, ADAC warns that an emergency hammer can sometimes do nothing against laminated glass panels, which are installed to protect against noise and heat.

Rescuers could not free the youth from Beelitz from the burning Tesla

The Tesla accident in which Noèl and Laura died in 2022 on the L 73 road between the villages of Dobbrikow and Hennickendorf (Teltow-Fläming) caught fire after colliding with a roadside tree. In the case against the driver, the first responders reported their attempt to open the doors with the trunk to rescue the unconscious youths from behind.

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One of the witnesses who wanted to intervene to save the matter said during the hearing on the subject of electric door handles: “I touched it – it was already on fire,” said the construction worker. (32). “Nothing worked, the handle was slippery.”

His partner said he burned his hands. “We tried again and again to get into this car – it didn’t work.” “We couldn’t open the car.”

The release of the mechanical door is difficult for ordinary people to find

The car club doesn’t just give advice with a hammer: Anyone carrying passengers should explain to them before leaving where they can get an emergency release if the car has an accident. This is difficult because the doors of the Tesla model involved in the accident in Brandenburg can be opened mechanically. But the recovery procedures in Teslas are hidden under carpets, panels and flaps, and the steps required are different for each model. ADAC therefore recommends that Tesla drivers and those of the aforementioned car brands “familiarize themselves with the emergency unlocking options in the car’s manual before setting off.”

In the tests, the described door handles showed “no abnormality,” ADAC continues. However, this may look different in “other real accident cases”.

The lawyer of the high school graduate Noèl, who was killed in the accident in Brandenburg, said in the court case about the Tesla in the accident: “The car is registered, that’s unfortunate and something has to change. But at the moment it is considered to be legally harmless on the road, which is not correct.”

MAZ