The US is set to follow the Chinese government in banning electronic door handles on cars over safety fears. 

The flush electronic style of door handle was popularised by Texan carmaker Tesla, but there have obviously been enough safety concerns raised that the American safety body NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) that oversees safety regulation is looking at banning them entirely. 

The agency had been asked to look at whether the features could be banned under current legislation, but it issued a statement this week turning down the request for an investigation, saying that it had “concluded that it is unlikely that additional investigation would result in finding that a defect related to motor vehicle safety exists”.

The petition was requested by a Tesla driver who claimed that his car had caught fire following a head-on collision and that he was unable to get out of the car. Forced to climb into the back seat, Kevin Clouse detailed how he had kicked the rear window until it broke. He said the injuries incurred meant he needed a full hip replacement. 

The electronic door releases inside Teslas need a supply of electricity from the 12V battery to work, and that supply can be cut off in an accident. There is a mechanical release inside the car that critics say is neither accessible enough nor visible enough.

Emergency service workers across the world have criticised hidden electronic door handles across swathes of cars, particularly EVs, that don’t allow external access to the car in the event of an accident, which the Chinese government has already made moves to change. 

Media investigation in the US over recent months has focused on the extent to which Tesla boss Elon Musk pushed for the handle designs and how much he was aware of the potential dangers of them. 

Certainly US legislation hasn’t kept pace with technology and it needs to be updated – the NHTSA admits in its response to the petition request that there are no requirements around manual door releases and how handles should be labelled. 

What the agency has done is grant a separate petition initiate the issuance of a new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) to “mandate a robust and obvious door egress system in all motor vehicles”.  The NHTSA said that this request “has been granted, and the Agency will accordingly commence a rulemaking proceeding”.