Modern vehicles have thousands of different parts that have to work together to ensure comfortable and safe driving. The ADAC is now warning about one of these parts that not everyone will perceive as a risk: the retractable car door handle .
In an emergency, rescue may be made more difficult by retractable door handles
In the event of an accident, the first and most important step is to free the occupants from the vehicle. For this reason, it is important that the vehicle can be opened quickly and easily from the outside. As the ADAC now explains, retractable car door handles that disappear completely into the front of the door when not in use can make this task particularly difficult for laypeople.
When it comes to the potential risk, a distinction must be made between two types of car door handles with a retractable mechanism. The greatest danger comes from variants in which the handles are automatically extended by electric actuators. If an accident were to cause a power supply disruption, the car door handle might not be able to extend or might only be able to extend partially. In this case, the occupants would not be able to be freed without additional help from rescue workers.
A second variant uses a mechanical solution. The handle is folded out by pressing on the front part, after which it can be opened like a normal car door handle. The ADAC recommends this variant because it offers a better chance of opening the door in the event of an accident.
Regardless of which variant the vehicle uses, it becomes critical if the body is so deformed that it is not possible to extend the handle. According to the ADAC, in this case there is “no chance” that the emergency services will be able to quickly unlock the door.
ADAC recommends window emergency hammer
Crash tests in which vehicles with these car door handles were tested have so far shown no abnormalities when opening the doors. However, the automobile club points out that there have already been accident scenarios in which the increased risk has been confirmed.
Some manufacturers therefore install an emergency opening on the inside of their vehicles, which can be used in the event of an accident. This should also be usable without a power supply. If you are a driver of a vehicle with retractable car door handles or are considering purchasing one, you should find out about these conditions before purchasing.
The ADAC also recommends
Carry a window emergency hammer in the car, which can be reached quickly in an emergency. But even this is no guarantee for a quick rescue, because many modern car windows cannot be broken so easily even with such a device
