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Hi all,

Anyone ever had a passenger opening up the rear 'suicide' doors while the car is moving? The results would be horrendous, and the passenger may also get injured!

It is something that constantly worries me while I drive sometimes inebriated,
love-sick couples around.

Has anyone ever designed a mechanism to lock the rear doors whilst moving?

Pat.

Now there's a problem!

I imagine retrofitting electric locks is out of the question.

As an electrician I can imagine some sort of coil that pulls a deadbolt...

Two pieces of pretty rope around the front and rear doors and door jamb should do the trick. I guess locking seat belts and handcuffs are out of the question.

The street rod crowd uses a retractable pin mechanism to prevent the door from opening. Some are all manual. Others are electric and engage when the car is running and in gear.
I have a set of manual ones on my street customized Studebaker pickup.

49Packard beat me to it but have a look. Might be an option. Haven't seen the electrically operated one yet but maybe a doorlock kit on this.

http://www.julianos.com/saftey_latch.html

Remove the door handles. OR, install a small knob just big enuf to open the door with.

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Pat, Back in the early 1950's my grandfather owed a 1939 Pontiac with "suicide rear doors. One day while driving along with some of my siblings in the car the driver side rear door suddenly flew open while crossing a set of railroad tracks and my 2 year old younger sister fell out onto the street. Luckily she was only scraped and bruised.

G'day all, I am sure that this was a reasonably hot topic amongst the designers of the "suicide door" concept. I am yet to hear of any fatalities from the inherient door design, although there have probably been many fatalities from exiting a car with suicide doors at any speed, the end result would have been regardless of the door design. To me it is similar to being in Vietnam in a UH-1B helicopter in 1968 with the sliding side doors open and the fear of falling out as it bucked around. This fear doesn't normally result in an actual exit incident.
The unfortunate fall-out of the young girl did not specify if she held onto the door, which would almost certainly pull her out.
I have a few cars with suicide doors and try to educate occupants to engage the door handle in the "lock" position when travelling, just in case.
Nowadays we have to be very cautious in carrying people unfamiliar with older design concepts, sort of the reverse to what you have to teach old farts such as myself about new concepts, such as wireless broadand and GPS units. I personally hate the concept of electric windows, without the ability to open the windows if the ignition is switched off. Best Regards Peter Toet

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I inherited my fathers 1973 Dodge Charger. My Dad didn't like the fact that you could not run the electric windows with the key off so he wired them hot (ahead of the ignition switch) all the time.

My grandfather accomplished this purpose by delivering a sharp rap to the side of the offending party's head with the admonition, "Don't touch the door while the car is moving."

I suppose that this would be unacceptable in today's politically correct atmosphere although it does occur to me that just letting them suffer the consequences would be useful in that it would probably discourage the practise in future - or improve the gene pool in the more drastic instance.

Damage to the car would be unacceptable however so, in your usage parameters, I'd probably go with the electric safety locks.