- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has vowed to mandate a new set of rules regarding how door handles work in all motor vehicles.
- There have been a number of issues with people attempting to exit a vehicle after an accident where the door handles do not function as expected.
- This problem has arisen due to the increase in electronic door handles, which can be damaged in an accident.
Update: NHTSA has contacted Motor1 with a statement on the door handle safety issue. “NHTSA received a petition for rulemaking to require an emergency door egress system to address the risk of occupant entrapment in vehicles during electrical power failures, and the agency accepted that petition. Granting the rulemaking petition is not a decision by NHTSA to issue a new safety standard, but rather begins the process of gathering input to make an informed decision. NHTSA will collect additional information and data to determine, and solicit public comments, whether Making rules for the new safety standard whether it is appropriate under the requirements of the Vehicle Safety Act.”
In our ever-increasing digital world, even seemingly simple objects become electronic. Take the ordinary door handle, for example. On many vehicles these days, that handle is operated electronically rather than mechanically. And if you get into an accident, it can become a big problem.
Vehicle manufacturers are required to have mechanical backup systems for such scenarios. But they are often in strange places or difficult to find. Owners of cars with such a setup may not even be aware of their car. Is Mechanical backup door handles.
according to driveIt’s become such a big issue that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is planning to mandate a smarter, more obvious system to help people escape from a vehicle in the event of an accident.
Of course, this is not something that will happen overnight. Rewriting the key safety component required in all new motor vehicles requires a lot of planning and development. This also needs to be done with inputs from vehicle manufacturers to see what is possible and what is not.
However, this problem needs attention. If you can’t get out of your vehicle in the event of an accident, it’s a frustrating problem that will only get worse as more vehicles adopt electronically operated door handles.
motor1 tech: A simple solution can be found in the way automakers have integrated regenerative braking into hybrid and electric vehicles. The system there uses electronic drag brakes. When you press hard on the brake pedal, you apply the hydraulic brakes, and you stop the car in a very familiar way.
Perhaps automakers could use door handles that act electronically when you use a light touch on the handle material. But if you pull the handle really hard, you engage a traditional, mechanical system inside the door.
Vehicle operators and passengers already instinctively reach for the handle, so why not make it work the way they assume it will?
There you go, NHTSA…after all, it doesn’t need to take years.
