Suicide doors

[Peter Richardson]

On Sat, 6 May 2000 MAVINSON5 at AOL.COM wrote:
> Does any one know the origin of the term "suicide doors" for those Lincoln
> Continentals in the 60's that had the back doors that opened at the center
> posts?  Couldn't one commit suicide just as easily with doors that open at
> the back?
Some earlier cars also had front doors that hinged on that center post,
so they opened "wrong" as well. (The early '50s Mercedes 220A cabrio was
an example.) The suicide part came about when such a door, front or rear,
was opened and then caught by the onrushing wind. At a high speed, an
errant hand on the latch could easily pull the attached body out through
the opened door. With a front-hinged door, that very same onrushing wind
would tend to hold the door closed.

But I don't know when "suicide doors" first appeared on the scene, or
whether any sort of legislative remedy caused their disappearance.
Presumably the term itself was enough to discourage manufacturers, even in
a pre-litigious age.

Peter Richardson