You want less regulations, so deal with the consequences.
This is why it's so dumb to want "more" or "less" regulation; clearly, there is some regulation we want, and some we might not. We should always be arguing specifics, not generalities.
Four dead in fire as Tesla doors fail to open after crash
61–70 of 188 posts
Re: Four dead in fire as Tesla doors fail to open after crash
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
Every Uber I take in a Tesla would practically need an airline safety briefing for this. There’s no way I’d find it on my own.
Cancel and rebook (another brand).
They've had huge pushes to add EVs to their network, which is great but this means it’s an increasingly likely for someone to get stuck. I’d include these instructions in their in-app safety center if I were them…
Re: Four dead in fire as Tesla doors fail to open after crash
#63> Tesla has faced criticism in the past for the design of its manual release levers, which are considered poorly designed and unintuitively placed. These emergency measures require intimate knowledge of the car, something that may not be feasible in a panic situation. First, how is this remotely legal? Are there not safety standards to ensure adults can easily exit a vehicle on fire? Second, regardless of regulations…
This seems like a huge failure on the part of the NTSB. Tesla is getting a lot of attention for this incident, but are there other manufactures that would have had the exact same problem given this same incident? The entire point of organizations like the NTSB is to prevent unsafe cars from going into production. The NTSB has given this type of door opening a green light. WHY?
In reading a bit on this topic: According to the NTSB, vehicle models with automatic locking doors should automatically unlock after an accident.
This begs the question did the door automatically unlock? Perhaps the vehicle was so damaged that the door could not be opened due to structural damaged to the door itself.
Re: Four dead in fire as Tesla doors fail to open after crash
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
Routing the mechanical linkage to a place in the door that would make sense for a door handle to be is the difficult and expensive part.
Bowden cables are dirt cheap.
The cables are cheap, designing a door latch system to be easy to install/cheap to manufacture is not. Why do you think all parking brakes on all ICE vehicles have turned electric now?
Re: Four dead in fire as Tesla doors fail to open after crash
#65I'm waiting for a new regulation that requires all EVs to have a sledgehammer in the passenger cabin.
How about a simple tiny safety hammer instead. The ones a lot of cars (at least here in the EU) are already outfitted with. As others have pointed out, any car should have such a hammer.
I'd assume it doesn't do much with laminated (rear) windows. It would require way too much force to break them enough to crawl out.
Also, I've only seen those on busses, never in cars (I'm in the EU as well).
Re: Four dead in fire as Tesla doors fail to open after crash
#66I’ll leave a thought that isn’t a Tesla criticism (because the others are good): everybody should carry a lifehammer in their car. If not for saving your own life, it might come in handy for saving somebody else’s. https://www.amazon.com/Lifehammer-Brand-Safety-Hammer-Nether... Don’t buy the cheap Chinese knockoffs.
Note that these tools don't work if you have laminated side windows, which many cars now do!
I don’t know much about laminated windows, but would a $5 hammer from a hardware store work?
Re: Four dead in fire as Tesla doors fail to open after crash
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
why are the doors electronically controlled to start with? is it cost savings?
A lot of cars have electronically controlled doors. It’s due to the frameless windows. Opening the door requires the windows to roll down slightly to avoid damage to the outer trim. The doors still have a mechanical release so there’s no cost savings involved. For the front door they’re right next to the electronic release. For the rear doors they’re hidden under the passenger door pocket. Edit: to everyone replying…
This is a design choice, not a requirement.
My frameless-windows 2007 car uses a mechanical door latch and the window rolls down slightly as I pull the latch.
Re: Four dead in fire as Tesla doors fail to open after crash
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why do they want frameless windows?
Frameless windows are aesthetically pleasing to many people. Tesla aren’t alone in that preference, they are just one of the few brands that use frameless by default even on the lowest end vehicles they sell, so there’s a higher number out there.
at the funeral...
"at least they had pleasing windows."
Re: Four dead in fire as Tesla doors fail to open after crash
#69> Tesla has faced criticism in the past for the design of its manual release levers, which are considered poorly designed and unintuitively placed. These emergency measures require intimate knowledge of the car, something that may not be feasible in a panic situation. First, how is this remotely legal? Are there not safety standards to ensure adults can easily exit a vehicle on fire? Second, regardless of regulations…
This seems like a huge failure on the part of the NTSB. Tesla is getting a lot of attention for this incident, but are there other manufactures that would have had the exact same problem given this same incident? The entire point of organizations like the NTSB is to prevent unsafe cars from going into production. The NTSB has given this type of door opening a green light. WHY?
Unfortunately the NTSB doesn't actually have that power...
It's an investigative agency, intended to investigate accidents and make recommendations. Unfortunately, they're just that: recommendations, not mandates. It's up to the agencies that govern the respective industries to issue regulations enforcing those recommendations (i.e., the NHTSA or FAA).
Re: Four dead in fire as Tesla doors fail to open after crash
#70I’ll leave a thought that isn’t a Tesla criticism (because the others are good): everybody should carry a lifehammer in their car. If not for saving your own life, it might come in handy for saving somebody else’s. https://www.amazon.com/Lifehammer-Brand-Safety-Hammer-Nether... Don’t buy the cheap Chinese knockoffs.
Note that these tools don't work if you have laminated side windows, which many cars now do!
Ouhh didn’t realize that cars switched up windows so much. Is there a modern alternative tool that a common person could use?