There are no European requirements for electric vehicles to have manual door handles in case of an emergency and Luxembourg cannot impose a local regulation on carmakers, the country’s transport minister has said.
“Currently, there is no explicit obligation in European legislation that electrically operated doors must have a possibility to open the doors mechanically in an emergency,” Transport Minister Yuriko Backes said in response to a parliamentary question from ADR deputy Jeff Engelen on Tuesday.
Engelen submitted the question after three people were burned alive in a car crash in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia on 7 September. The Tesla hit a tree in Schwerte, about 20 kilometres southeast of Dortmund, and police stated the vehicle “ignited immediately upon impact”.
The driver, a 43-year-old man, and two nine-year old children died. According to press reports, a local resident was unable to open the car’s doors and police said the occupants “burned to death”. A third nine-year old child survived the crash.
Engelen stated in his question that “investigators are now [examining if] a mechanical door could have saved lives in this case.”
The Luxembourg Times has approached Tesla for comment.
European, not national, automotive safety rules
Backes said that the Grand Duchy cannot set local rules on electric cars. She stated: “Once a vehicle has received a valid EU type-approval from a member state, all other member states, including Luxembourg, are obliged to recognise this approval. A national rejection due to the design of the doors is therefore not possible.”
“Luxembourg will continue to adhere to the common European and international rules in the future and will continue to implement all adjustments to the safety standards decided at EU or international level,” the transport minister added.
Backes said that the issue “is being actively discussed internationally, both at the United Nations and at the level of European institutions. It is therefore possible that future regulations will incorporate this requirement.”
