Did you know in your boot (trunk?) if you have one there is a mechanical lever you can pull to escape that works at all times (car off, no battery, locked, etc.) Maybe by the bonnet (hood?) release catch there could be a similar 'unlock and open everything lever' for emergencies.
That trunk latch is there because of legislation introduced at the request of a couple who were kidnapped and locked in the trunk of a car. Before then, you couldn't open a trunk from the inside.
Nothing similar has happened with the hood or door handles...yet.
A mechanical release would be good, yes, and I agree that modern cars are too obsessed with drive-by-wire when it comes to safety features like doors and pedals. But that lever wouldn't have helped in this case.
I infer that the driver was unconscious and bystanders/first responders outside the car were unable to open the doors. There are no claims that the internal handles were defective, they only complain that the futuristic, flush external door handles that are intended to detect key presence plus an approaching hand and extend when you reach for them were inoperable. However, there are no details in the article on whether the doors were even unlocked or airbags deployed. Regulations require that the doors unlock after the airbag deploys, most manufacturers also turn off the ignition and fuel pump (in an internal-combustion vehicle); I expect that this routine would include extending the handles in a Tesla. However, Tesla handles getting stuck is a pretty common problem, it seems the standard response is to pry them open with a credit card or similar object. And typically it's the electric actuator and slide mechanism that jams, so other doors would have worked, in this case it sounds like the power to the door actuators was gone due to the crash so no door would open.
But car doors getting crushed in and becoming inoperable is a common problem, and the standard solution is a glass breaking tool or other heavy/sharp object. Had the door latches been crushed and stuck closed in the attorney's recommended "Chevy pickup", regardless of whether the handles were accessible, the police officer who responded first would have been expected to break a window. It sounds like the first responder got stuck in the problem-solving process when their plan to open the doors using the handles didn't work and they didn't know what to do. That's easy to identify from my armchair, but I'm sure it would be different when you've got an unconscious guy in a smoking Tesla in front of you, and certainly is no good resolution for the widow.
> Did you know in your boot (trunk?) if you have one there is a mechanical lever you can pull to escape that works at all times (car off, no battery, locked, etc.) Maybe by the bonnet (hood?) release catch there could be a similar 'unlock and open everything lever' for emergencies.
I would think that depends on the country. Every country has different car regulations, there is no universal car regulatory body.
I can't understand what you think this adds to the discussion? It should be obvious to anyone with common sense that there is no single regulatory body and regulations vary?
