{"id":5501,"date":"2026-07-26T09:36:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T09:36:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5501"},"modified":"2026-07-26T09:36:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T09:36:34","slug":"auto-safety-agency-exploring-new-car-door-rules-after-deaths-in-teslas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5501","title":{"rendered":"Auto safety agency exploring new car door rules after deaths in Teslas"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>By Dana Hull and Amy Stillman, Bloomberg<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5499\">Asking Eric: I saved a stranger\u2019s life and I want him to stop calling me<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday that it would begin the process to impose a new federal rule, granting a petitioner\u2019s\u00a0request that the agency \u201cmandate a robust and obvious door egress system in all motor vehicles,\u201d according a regulatory filing. All new vehicles in the US would be subject to any new requirements, if finalized.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED: Sole survivor of fiery Cybertruck crash in East Bay sues Tesla over lack of door handles<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>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\u00a0power, 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.<\/p>\n<p>Bloomberg News has\u00a0reported extensively\u00a0on the modern door systems, uncovering\u00a0at 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\u00a0Elon Musk\u00a0insisted on electric doors even after potential safety concerns were\u00a0raised internally.<\/p>\n<p>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 \u201caddress a critical, life-threatening safety gap\u201d stemming from electronic or \u201chidden\u201d door latching and release systems, which are common on electric vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5498\">Dear Abby: Nobody likes my sister. Must I keep inviting her for holidays?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>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\u2019s request for a safety defect investigation. The agency\u00a0didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for additional details. Tesla didn\u2019t respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s 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,\u201d said Michael Brooks, executive director of the\u00a0Center for Auto Safety. But given how long the process can take,\u00a0\u201cI wouldn\u2019t expect to see a final compliance date for manufacturers before 2030 even if the rulemaking proceeds swiftly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED: Trapped Tesla driver\u2019s 911 call: \u2018It\u2019s on fire. Help please\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Still, the decision adds to growing fallout over the incidents tied to electric door handles. US\u00a0Representative\u00a0Robin Kelly, an Illinois Democrat, introduced legislation earlier this year\u00a0that would require manual door releases in new cars and\u00a0means for first responders to gain access to vehicles when power is lost.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>NHTSA in September\u00a0opened a defect investigation into certain Tesla Model Y vehicles after receiving several complaints about children being trapped in vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5497\">Today in History: July 26, Hillary Clinton wins nomination for Democratic presidential candidate<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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\u00a0power.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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