A suicide door is a rear-hinged door on the side of an automobile. The door gets its name from the perceived danger of the design in the days before mandatory seatbelt use. An unlatched suicide door could easily catch the wind when the vehicle was at speed, and the passenger next to the door could be in danger of falling out. Opening a rear-hinged door in a moving vehicle was considered a suicidal move — thus, “suicide doors.” Other names for rear-hinged doors include clamshell doors and coach doors.
Current versions of the suicide door have addressed this threat. Automakers have created doors that remain locked when the car is in motion. The safety mechanisms ensure that the door does not fly open, and seatbelts keep passengers in place in the unlikely event that the door’s safety mechanism fails.
Hot rods and custom cars often feature suicide doors for the novelty value. Some modern production vehicles use them to improve access to the second row of seating. Recent examples include the Toyota FJ Cruiser, the Honda Element, the Mazda RX-8, and several extended-cab versions of pickup trucks. Luxury vehicles from the Rolls-Royce lineup to the Lincoln Continental have featured suicide doors to eliminate or minimize the B-pillar and maximize entry space.
