Tag Archive | car doors that open backwards
February 15, 2013  

Suicide Doors

Reed Brothers Dodge owned a 1928 Dodge Brothers Standard Six with rear-hinged suicide doors.

Suicide doors on Reed Brothers' 1928 Dodge Brothers Standard Six

1928 Dodge Brothers Standard Six

So why are these doors called suicide doors? Did someone commit suicide with one? What’s suicidal about a door?

The theory is that the forward motion of the car could cause the door to fly open, possibly causing the unlucky person sitting next to the door to be pulled out of the car, or the door itself could be ripped from its hinges. It’s debatable as to whether this was speculation or reality, but cars of this era did not have seat belts, so there was nothing to hold a passenger in the car.

The term “suicide doors” was therefore placed on vehicles with the rear-hinged door configuration, the theory being that anyone inside was on a suicide mission because of the design.