Suicide door

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Delahaye Type 135

A suicide door is a car door that is hinged on the edge closer to the rear of the vehicle, known as the trailing edge.[1][2][3][4] These doors are rarely used on vehicles in modern times because of their numerous problems.

Contents

[edit] Origins of the name

The name reflects the increased danger of the door falling open if it becomes unlatched while the car is moving.[1][2][3] The problem arises while driving at high speed: if the door opens even a little, it will catch the fast-moving air like a sail and open, potentially being damaged from the force of the air.

A latch or lock usually ensures the door remains securely closed. Consumer Reports reported that the door on a Subaru 360 they were testing opened into the wind while driving with the door partially latched.[5]

On a conventional car, if the door becomes unlatched, the fast moving air around the car, which is going in the opposite direction to the car, will outweigh the pressure difference and hold the door closed. With suicide doors, this fast moving air holds the door open.[1][2] This can be dangerous if the occupant is not seat-belted.

Mazda RX-8 uses clamshell door design to avoid suicide door safety problems

This problem is greatly increased when driving around a bend. Lateral G-force combined with the low-pressure air moving around the car will fling open an unlatched door, and the occupant could be thrown out if not wearing a seatbelt. In reality, this is very unlikely to happen because the locks and latches for suicide doors are built to withstand greater forces than most locks and latches. Most modern cars with rear suicide doors have front doors which overlap the rear doors so the latter cannot open unless the front door is open, commonly called "clamshell doors".[2] An example of this is the Mazda RX-8 sports coupé. Another safety device is a lock that prevents the rear doors being opened unless the vehicle is stationary, such as used in the Rolls-Royce Phantom and in London cabs. By using this electronic safety, the doors can be opened independently.

Some erroneously believe that the name stems from the fact that if, in an emergency, the user exits the vehicle while it is moving forward, the door will hit them upon exit.[6]

[edit] Use of the term

Because of the term's negative connotations, it is avoided in major automobile manufacturers' promotional literature in favour of terms such as "rear-hinged doors",[2] "coach doors" (Rolls-Royce)[4], and "freestyle doors" (Mazda)[4]. However, the phrase "suicide doors" is familiar to many English-speakers and is often used openly in the custom-car trade.[7]

[edit] History

Suicide doors were not uncommon on cars manufactured in the first half of the 20th century.[2][8] They were especially popular in the gangster era of the 1930s because "It's a lot easier to shove somebody out with the wind holding the door open", Dave Brownell, the former editor of Hemmings Motor News stated.[9]

Post-World War II examples are almost universally the rear doors of four-door cars. The most well-known use of suicide doors on post-World War II automobiles was the Lincoln Continental sedan from 1961 through 1969,[3][4] and on the unique Lincoln Continental four-door convertible[4] from 1961 through 1967 (the last four-door convertible built in the United States prior to the introduction of the 4-door Jeep Wrangler in 2007.) Since the four-door Lincoln convertible did not have a center "B" pillar, the rear door glass was designed to electrically retract a few inches when the rear doors were opened in order for the weather-stripping to clear the front door glass. This meant that if the battery was dead, the only way out of the back seat was to crawl over the front seat.

[edit] Modern use

For a time, the last true, independently opening suicide doors on a mass produced car were fitted on the Ford Thunderbird four-door sedan from 1967 through 1971. The 1971 model was the last American production automobile to feature rear suicide doors, because after this time, safety concerns prevented their use.[10] More recently, rear suicide doors that cannot be opened until the regular front doors are opened have been appearing on a number of vehicles[2], including extended cab pickup trucks, the Saturn Ion QuadCoupe, and the Mazda RX-8.[2] In 2003, true independent suicide doors reappeared, this time on the new Rolls-Royce Phantom. The Spyker D12 officially presented in 2006 also has suicide doors. The Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe four-seat convertible, based on the 100EX show car also has suicide front doors.

Rear passenger suicide doors had been a constant feature of Hackney carriages, otherwise known as Black Cabs. However, with the replacement of the Austin FX4 by the new TX models, suicide doors were replaced with standard hinged doors.

Suicide doors are used on the Carbon Motors Corporation E7 concept car, a purpose built police vehicle and features rear suicide doors to help officers get handcuffed individuals in and out of the back seat.

[edit] Advantages

  • Rear-hinged doors make entering and exiting the vehicle much easier. The occupant can enter in a natural way; walking forward towards the vehicle, and then turning as they go to sit, and exit by stepping forward out of the vehicle.
  • Rear-hinged back doors (especially with front-hinged front doors) make it easier for a person in the front seat such as a chauffeur to exit and reach the handle of the back door to open it for the passenger. Austin FX4 taxi drivers were able to reach the rear door handle through the driver's window without getting out of the vehicle.

[edit] Disadvantages

  • While the vehicle is parked, such a door could hide an entering or exiting passenger from the view of passing cars. A door hit by another vehicle would be slammed shut onto the passenger.
  • Conventionally hinged doors in front and suicide doors in the back make it difficult for passengers to exit from the front and rear seats simultaneously due to the limited space between the front edge of the rear door and the rear edge of the front door.
  • If the user exits the vehicle while it is moving forward, the door will hit him or her upon exit.[6]

[edit] Models

Lloyd LT 600 van with a front suicide door

Here is a list of some cars that use suicide doors. For a more complete list, see List of Cars with Suicide Doors.

[edit] See also

Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Automobiles with suicide doors

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c [1], Suicide door definition.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h [2], Suicide doors on Diseno-Art.
  3. ^ a b c [3], Suicide doors simply explained on Everything2.
  4. ^ a b c d e [4], Don't Call Them Suicide Doors.
  5. ^ Consumer Reports April 1969
  6. ^ a b [5], Automotive door styles.
  7. ^ Martin Zimmerman (September 15, 2007). "The Garage: Focus on autos - 'Suicide doors' resurrected by car designers despite safety concerns". Business (Los Angeles Times). http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-fi-garage15sep15,0,5887067.story?coll=la-class-autos-highway1. Retrieved on June 11, 2009. 
  8. ^ , Suicide doors on Urban Dictionary.
  9. ^ [6], Don't Call Them Suicide Doors page 2.
  10. ^ [7], Suicide doors on Auto Brevity.
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