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Why are suicide doors on old cars called suicide doors? They were hinged at the rear edge, so if the vehicle was moving and they sprang open, anyone who grabbed to stop that happening was whisked out of their seat into the roadway.Seat belts were not in use at that time. Not a very clean form of suicide.
I vaguely remember the answer to this, Something to do with opening the doors while moving. If you open them while moving the wind catches them and tears them off taking you with the door?
At that time they were by design unsafe. Not sure why they called them suicide, though.
Such reverse-hinged door, if accidentally opened in a moving car, would be flung wide by the road wind, making it easier for a passenger to fall out or seriously injure anyone exiting or entering the offside of the car if the door is hit by a passing vehicle.
Perhaps more like a "murder weapon" popular by mobster, supposedly owing to the ease of pushing passengers out of moving vehicles.
The most recent mass-produced model with such doors has been the Rolls-Royce Phantom Series II introduced in 2012.
Some Honda, Toyota, BMW, Saturn, Mazda and several European models have them too.
This door design is quite useful and makes entering and exiting a car very comfortable. In recent years a modification was done, so they cannot be opened until the front doors are opened.
We had one waaay back when in the mid 60's, a black one. I remember going to the local swimming hole. You could open both side doors and drape a large towel or blanket across to change cloths.
At that time they were by design unsafe. Not sure why they called them suicide, though.
Such reverse-hinged door, if accidentally opened in a moving car, would be flung wide by the road wind, making it easier for a passenger to fall out or seriously injure anyone exiting or entering the offside of the car if the door is hit by a passing vehicle.
Perhaps more like a "murder weapon" popular by mobster, supposedly owing to the ease of pushing passengers out of moving vehicles.
The most recent mass-produced model with such doors has been the Rolls-Royce Phantom Series II introduced in 2012.
Some Honda, Toyota, BMW, Saturn, Mazda and several European models have them too.
This door design is quite useful and makes entering and exiting a car very comfortable. In recent years a modification was done, so they cannot be opened until the front doors are opened.
Again, who opens a door in a moving car?
Did this door seriously die out because some archaic and improbable urban legend?
Again, who opens a door in a moving car?
Did this door seriously die out because some archaic and improbable urban legend?
I am sure no one WANTED to open a door in a moving car. I suspect that the old design was somehow unsafe, and the door actually got open by accident. It is improved now.
The nickname is mainly due to the design's propensity to seriously injure anyone exiting or entering the offside of the car if the door is hit by a passing vehicle. No one really mentioned the dangers of opening the door while the vehicle was moving.
I am sure no one WANTED to open a door in a moving car. I suspect that the old design was somehow unsafe, and the door actually got open by accident. It is improved now.
The nickname is mainly due to the design's propensity to seriously injure anyone exiting or entering the offside of the car if the door is hit by a passing vehicle. No one really mentioned the dangers of opening the door while the vehicle was moving.
Out of curiosity, I opened the doors twice on a moving car when I was 4 or 5. (This was before child seats were mandatory past the age of 2 or 3). Once on my grandfather's station wagon going 55mph down a country road, and once on my aunt's Buick because I wanted to show off to my cousin. Neither time was I sucked out of the car out into the road.
Why are suicide doors on old cars called suicide doors? They were hinged at the rear edge, so if the vehicle was moving and they sprang open, anyone who grabbed to stop that happening was whisked out of their seat into the roadway.Seat belts were not in use at that time. Not a very clean form of suicide.
As noted in linked OP article proper name is "carriage doors" if anything. That because like horse drawn carriages of old rear doors are hinged at rear to open backwards. This makes sense in that at least for royalty, nobility, wealthy and anyone else traveling in a grand or whatever carriage a type of servant opened the door to allow passengers to enter or exit.
As for the moniker "suicide doors" see:
"The nickname is mainly due to the design's propensity to seriously injure anyone exiting or entering the offside of the car if the door is hit by a passing vehicle. Also, in the era before seat belts, the accidental opening of such doors meant that there was a greater risk of falling out of the vehicle compared to front-hinged doors, where airflow pushed the doors closed rather than opening them further. Suicide doors were especially popular with mobsters in the gangster era of the 1930s, supposedly owing to the ease of pushing passengers out of moving vehicles, according to Dave Brownell, the former editor of Hemmings Motor News"
Again what’s up with this getting hit by a passing car business?
First off who just exits the car in front of passing traffic without looking first?
Second, if the car hits you, it doesn’t matter if it hits you first before the door vs the other way around.
If you were kidnaped and had to escape, or a fire inside the vehicle while you were driving. There was a woman who jumped out a car because the man was trying to carjack her car.
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