American electric vehicle maker Tesla might release an update in the future that could help protect cyclists from falling victims of inadvertent door openings. Car dooring, more popularly known as dooring happens when a vehicle driver or a passenger opens the door of the vehicle while not checking for pedestrians, cyclists, or motorists. This unfortunate accident usually takes place in urban areas where vehicles are parked on the side of the road, which could lead to serious injuries.
On the social networking site Twitter, Burhan Halilov, a victim of car dooring, suggests this feature to Tesla CEO Elon Musk. "Please consider a feature to look for bicyclist with the side cameras when car is parked and lock the door to prevent "dooring" if there is a bicycle approaching the blind spot. "Dooring" in large cities is major cause of injuries. Happened to me," the user said.
The Tesla anti-dooring feature will use the side cameras of Tesla electric vehicles to sense possible victims and temporarily lock itself for approaching bicycles or motorists in the blind spot of the vehicle. The National Safety Council suggests the far hand reach technique or the Dutch Reach technique to avoid car dooring. This particular technique recommends using the hand away from the door to open.
Through this, while the person reaches across their body for the handle of the door, the body will react naturally by turning and giving a glimpse at the side mirror or the blind spot. It allows the person to see potential oncoming traffic, pedestrians, or cyclists. Tesla can deploy the feature over the air and enable cameras on Tesla electric vehicles to help avoid unwanted accidents like this.
The US electric vehicle maker is widely known to regularly roll out essential features to its vehicles to make sure the road becomes safer for both Tesla owners and the public. The company released the Holiday Software update in December that introduces improved Full Self-Driving visuals of the surroundings. The latest firmware of the hardware 3 allows Tesla vehicles to determine multiple traffic lights, parking spots for the handicap, stop lights, garbage cans, and road markings.
In other Tesla news, the company is preparing to deliver its first Tesla made in China Model 3 to non-tesla customers this week and will commence in Jan. 7. The company already made its first delivery of MiC Model 3 to its employees in Shanghai Gigafactory 3. The massive facility outside the US started the production of Tesla MIC Model 3 with an average of more than 1,000 units per week and is now averaging 3,000 units per week, according to reports.
