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German ADAC Warns Of Safety Risk In Flush Door Handles
More and more car manufacturers are using flush door handles and, in some cases, even retracting them electrically. ADAC, the German equivalent of the ANWB, warns of the safety risk that such door handles can entail.
You probably see more and more cars where the flush door handles are, in a sense, recessed into the doors. Some conventional mechanical models are slightly deeper than you are used to, such as the BMW i4. In addition, there are also door handles, such as in the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, that are recessed door handles that you unfold manually by pressing the front part. However, there are also systems in which the door handles present themselves after pressing the button or when approaching the car. Such door handles often automatically disappear from view. It is precisely such electronically controlled units that worry the German ADAC.
ADAC warns that the electrically extendable and retractable handles of the Tesla Model S and Mercedes-Benz EQE, among others, can complicate the work of emergency responders in the event of an accident. In some cases, such door handles take emergency personnel longer to reach the occupants. Such door handles that retract electrically could remain retracted if the power supply fails, ADAC writes.
ADAC reports that the safety institute Euro NCAP, of which ADAC is also a member, subjects such door handles to extensive safety tests. How these types of doors can be opened manually from the outside will also be examined. No problems have yet been observed, but ADAC says that in practice, accidents have occurred that have made the work of emergency workers more difficult due to such measures. In addition, the shape of these types of handles could also make it more difficult to open a tight and possibly deformed door by pulling firmly.
In addition, ADAC advises owners of cars that can be unlocked electronically from the inside at the push of a button to unlock them before getting out. ADAC advises them to familiarize themselves with the emergency unlocking options. A safety hammer can also provide a solution in an emergency, according to the German car club.
