So, that's my the question: why suicide doors are called suicide doors? Is it something to do with you being suicidal to use them?
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Yup. Opening them with the vehicle moving at speed is considered suicidal, because the wind tends to pry them wide open instead of trying to close them again as it does with normal doors.
Airhowlingly yours, Erik.
Can also get you squashed if opened into traffic while exiting.
Doors hinged that way were popular up thru the 30's because it seemed more natural to get in and out of the front seats.
Speedy Jim
They open backwards, and are therefore more susceptible to opening at high speed... couple that with the fact that the cars they were originally fitted to (pre 1950's) had no seatbelts... well, you get the picture :-D
-- Howard Rose
1966 VW Beetle 1300 Deluxe 1962 Austin Mini Deluxe 1964 Austin Mini Super Deluxe
Don't know about the suicide, but in Finnish they are called "kaappariovet". Translates to "catcher doors" or "kidnapper=20 doors". Easier to take passengers when moving ;)
Sorry, yet another Finnish lesson...
All of the previous answers are bogus. The time in history, that the doors opened that way, was a time when Gangsters were in the movies and folks like Bonnie and Clyde, and Al Capone were making their names in history. At an early time in my life I remember My Granfather calling the "backward" doors, *Gangster doors" and I asked him why everyone else called them Suicide doors.
The reply was more related to what you were doing if you opened the doors during gun fire, while the car was moving forward. It seemed to scoop up all the bullets and aim them right at the person in the opening. If the doors opened the other way, they could be used as shields. This is once again an opinion, however based on personal experiences and is by no means the last word on the subject. Take it for what it's worth. ( it's a free offering, so I figure it could be worth more than payed for )
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And for yet another theory:
Suicide hood? If it pops up it kills the engine? What does a suicide trunk kill? It's because if you opened them at speed they flew opened & flung you out (as others have said). Why is that so complicated to understand/explain? ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
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On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 01:50:13 -0400, "ThaDriver" ran around screaming and yelling:
having driven a Jeep many times without doors i don't think this "theory" holds up...sorry...im still here... JT
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Look at it this way: suppose, in a moment of stupidity, you opened the suicide door while going fast. When the wind grabbed it and started to pull it out of your hand, your natural reaction would be to hold on tight and try to pull it back. The wind pressure is going to be much stronger than you are and I'll leave the rest to your imagination. Remember, suicide doors were in the days before seat belts.
A "doorless" car is a different thing altogether.
Sometimes the obvious answer isn't the right one.
Chicago did not get the name "windy city" based on what kind of wind the area gets, for example (it was actually coined in reference to Chicago's wordy politicans).
No one can agree on the origins of the word 'f*ck' either, and there's even debate out there how many words the Eskimos truly use to describe snow.
It's also true for "suicide doors". There is no shortage of explanations for the term's origin.
Is there really someone out there who can not figure out why they they are called "suicide doors" ?Are people really getting that dumb? I thought it was a urban myth,That there were people out there like that....
On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 14:21:26 -0700, "DonF" ran around screaming and yelling:
nope Don they are out there, and occassionally they pop into RAMVA to post...good to see you JT
Hmm... Nah, he couldn't be talkin' about _me_. :)
You never had door handles to hold on to which acted like catapults when opened!...
J. :0)
What the heck is RAMVA? I'm at
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On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 21:12:11 -0400, "ThaDriver" ran around screaming and yelling:
Look in your link....see the part that says "Rec.Autos.Makers.VW.Aircooled"? RAMVA...it is the group you are posting too... JT
He's posting through some web forum that is using the content of the newsgroup as if it comes from their website.
Now that's sneaky!
-- Howard Rose
1966 VW Beetle 1300 Deluxe 1962 Austin Mini Deluxe 1964 Austin Mini Super DeluxeSooo... who sponsors/supports this newsgroup? Where is it's origin? ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
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