Tesla’s door handles may spur new US safety rules

特斯拉车门把手或将促使美国出台新的安全法规

U.S. regulators will begin developing new requirements for automakers to ensure drivers and passengers can safely exit their vehicles. The new rule-making process, outlined in a regulatory filing and first reported by Bloomberg, follows a series of incidents, including fatal ones, in which people have become stuck inside cars with flush, electronically operated door handles like those found on Tesla vehicles.

美国监管机构将开始为汽车制造商制定新的要求，以确保驾驶员和乘客能够安全地离开车辆。据彭博社首次报道，在一份监管文件中概述了这一新的规则制定程序。此前，发生了一系列事故（包括致命事故），人们被困在配备了特斯拉等车型所使用的隐藏式电子门把手的车内。

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced the new rule-making in response to a petition that asked the agency to open a safety defect investigation into the emergency mechanical door release design on 2022 Tesla Model 3 vehicles. The petition argued that door release doesn’t comply with federal motor vehicle standards. NHTSA denied taking the action that the petitioners wanted, saying that the issue would be best addressed through rulemaking rather than a defect investigation.

美国国家公路交通安全管理局（NHTSA）宣布启动这项新的规则制定，以回应一份请愿书。该请愿书要求该机构对 2022 款特斯拉 Model 3 车辆的紧急机械车门解锁设计进行安全缺陷调查。请愿书认为，该车门解锁装置不符合联邦机动车安全标准。NHTSA 拒绝了请愿者要求的行动，称通过制定规则而非缺陷调查来解决该问题更为妥当。

If the agency adopts new rules, all automakers will need to follow them. However, it’s important to note that “commencing” rulemaking doesn’t mean new ones will be developed, according to NHTSA. The decision comes less than a year after NHTSA opened an investigation into Tesla’s door handles after receiving nine reports from owners who were unable to get into their cars, sometimes with children still inside.

如果该机构采纳新规则，所有汽车制造商都必须遵守。然而，NHTSA 指出，“启动”规则制定并不意味着一定会出台新规则。在此决定做出不到一年前，NHTSA 曾对特斯拉的车门把手展开调查，此前该机构收到了九份车主报告，称他们无法进入车内，有时车内还有儿童。

The probe followed Bloomberg’s own investigation into a series of incidents in which Tesla drivers and passengers became trapped inside their vehicles following a crash. While Tesla vehicles do have manual door releases, they are located only inside the car. In an initial review by NHTSA, investigators found the handles may not work if the electronic door locks don’t receive enough voltage from the vehicle’s battery system.

此次调查是在彭博社对一系列特斯拉驾驶员和乘客在车祸后被困车内的事件进行调查之后展开的。虽然特斯拉汽车确实配有手动车门解锁装置，但它们仅位于车内。在 NHTSA 的初步审查中，调查人员发现，如果电子门锁无法从车辆电池系统获得足够的电压，这些把手可能无法工作。

Tesla designer Franz von Holzhausen said last year that the company was working on a redesign of its door handles. Rivian said last year it was changing the interior door handle design on its R2 SUV to put the manual release in a more visible location, closer to the electrically powered door handles.

特斯拉设计师 Franz von Holzhausen 去年表示，公司正在重新设计其车门把手。Rivian 去年也表示，正在更改其 R2 SUV 的内部车门把手设计，将手动解锁装置放置在更显眼的位置，使其更靠近电动门把手。