As A Car Reviewer, Here’s The One Safety Check I Do Every Time I Get Into A Car

One of the best perks of this job, other than getting to work with people I love, is getting to drive a lot of different cars. These are mostly new review units, or press cars, though I’m also invited to drive a decent number of random used cars as well. Every time I get into any car I’m unfamiliar with, the first thing I try to do is figure out how to get out of it in an emergency.

This isn’t just important for me, it’s vital for pretty much everyone. You may not review cars, but if you take any form of taxi or rideshare service, you face the risk of being trapped in a car unnecessarily.

In the old era of cars, nearly every vehicle had a straightforward mechanical door handle that provided a physical connection between your hand and the door release. Power-operated locks are nearly universal, but power-operated door handles were much less common until recently. Why? Electric cars with retracting, flush door handles and frameless windows in cars.

A Real Fatal Risk

I was reminded of this a couple of times in the last week, once because of comedy and once because of tragedy. The funny version of this was when Parker and I got into a Fiat Topolino at the New York Auto Show and both shut our doors for some reason. There was very little risk to our safety inside the air-conditioned Javits Convention Center, but it was slightly uncomfortable that there was no obvious way to get out and no door handle.  

This is because of thrift, not style or technology. The locking mechanism on the little Fiat is mechanical, but to keep the car cheap and light, there’s no handle. Instead, you have to pull on a fabric loop. On the driver’s side, this loop is somewhat obscured by the steering wheel and dash. For further cost savings, the doors are identical, which means the strap is behind the passenger, so I didn’t even see it until Parker found it on his side.

Again, the risks were low here. We were not in peril. Had we been driving the car and had a fire, however, it could have been an issue.

This seems to have happened recently in China with the crash of a Xiaomi Su7 electric sedan. The car, with three college students inside, was driving in Anhui Province when it crashed and caught fire. Reportedly, the car burst into flames, and there were allegations that the women were not able to escape. According to Car News China, the Su7 has electronic doors with a specific kind of emergency release:

Addressing claims about door functionality, Xiaomi representatives clarified to China News Weekly that all four doors are equipped with mechanical emergency release handles located in the storage compartment area of each door panel. These handles function mechanically and can open the doors even if the battery is damaged.

Mechanical door releases in the storage pockets of cars are not uncommon, but I don’t think in an emergency, it’s going to be the first place anyone looks. The issue with powered handles is that if the car loses power, the passengers lose the ability to open the door if they don’t know about the backup. This came up last year with Jason’s neighbor, who ended up breaking her window when the car lost power.

As you can see above, the front doors in the Model Y can be opened with a release ahead of the window switches. In the rear, like the SU7, the release is in the door pocket. Here’s a video showing how the rear one works:

You have to remove a mat, then a panel, and then pull on the lever. Again, that’s a lot to ask for in an emergency.

This isn’t just limited to fancy electric cars. Any car with “frameless” windows that have a window that goes into the roof, as opposed to having a full frame, will have electronic door handles so the car can lower the window without cracking the glass.

Even older cars, like the C6 Corvette, might have a power-operated door opening mechanism. A few years ago, a 72-year-old veteran and his dog became trapped in the man’s Corvette after a battery cable came loose, and both died in a restaurant parking lot from heat exposure. Our own Griffin Riley has a C6 Corvette and grabbed me a picture of the release mechanism, which is in the footwell:

This is a prominent feature if you know what to look for, otherwise, it sort of blends into the floor.

What You Can Do About It

Whenever I’m in a new-to-me car, I look to see what the lock/door handle situation is immediately. I just try to make it a part of my routine when getting into a new car, the full version of which I do when driving:

• Check to confirm if there are regular doors.
• If the door handles are powered, locate the emergency release for front and rear passengers (then tell my daughter).
• Check my seat, and make sure that when my hands are laid across the steering wheel, the top of the wheel comes to my wrists.
• Check mirrors.
• Check to see where the emergency flashers are.
• Check to see where I can ditch a wrapper full of chewed gum.

If you’re not driving new cars regularly, it’s still good to check when you get into the back of an Uber what the situation is. For many cars, including the Cadillac Lyriq I just reviewed, it’s as straightforward as pulling on the handle twice. The same actually works in my old BMW 5-Series when the door is locked. This is an easy thing to quickly test when you get in a car.

If you’re in something unfamiliar and you’re a passenger, you can always ask the driver (if they know) or quickly search online to see how to self-extract from that particular vehicle. In my experience, rideshares are more likely to be EVs and therefore more likely to have unexpected doors.

This is also important for children! Whether it’s a press car or a rental, I like to ask my daughter how she would get out of the vehicle in an emergency.

I will admit that it’s not an easy muscle to build up if you’re not a reviewer, frequent traveler, or regular user of taxis or ridesharing. It’s worth trying to learn and, especially if you have teens who are constantly getting in random cars all the time, worth reminding your family.

Top graphic images: Hyundai; The Autopian