OT: Why are 3 door cars allowed on the road?

[Commander Kinsey]

What's wrong with sticking it out of the sunroof?

[Commander Kinsey]

It's actually more fun doing it with limited space.

[Commander Kinsey]

The length of a car is infinite with the back open. It's only the width and height that matter.

[Max Demian]

...especially when you've been drinking.

[Max Demian]

Would folding it down do?

[Ed Pawlowski]

Yes, after four or five drinks you can relax and drive faster without some of the distractions of the traffic around you. MADD (Mothers Advancing Distinguished Driving) would commend you.

[rbowman]

She liked to drive but that didn't mean she wanted to be a taxi service.

[rbowman]

No problem in this state. The only test is if the thing will start and that's DIY.

[rbowman]

As long as you don't drive into a parking garage... When I was a kid we went to the lumber yard for some 2x4's. I got in, rolled down the passenger window, and guided them to the rear package shelf.

All was good until my father drove into the garage. He was quick to say the stream of profanity wasn't directed to me. The insurance company disallowed the claim as usual.

[Xeno]

Have you been thinking much of late? Looks like not!

Ever thought about *BUSES*? Doors on *one side only*.

Come to think of it, a train carriage doesn't have a door for every person. Not even a door for passengers on the *window seats*.

Another clue for you, the doors on cars that do exist can't always be opened in the event of an accident. That's what these are for;

No door? Just make one!

[NY]

Nah. They just open the door on the side where the traffic is, risking the door being taken off by a passing car, and then moan when their kids are hit.

When I was being taken to school, my parents and those of friends had a rule: *always* get out of the door on the pavement side. Most parents had four-door cars so we didn't make the driver get out if he'd parked on the "wrong" side of the road, but one had a two-door Viva and Jim's mum had to get out if she parked on the wrong side.

Interesting that rules that parents imposed when there was fairly light traffic in the 1960s compared with nowadays, aren't enforced with even greater stringency now the traffic is much more.

Scary that parents used to cram six or seven children in the car (some in the boot if it was an estate car) when doing the school run - H&S in the

1960s was a lot worse than nowadays.

Even as an adult, if the car was stopped on a busy road, I might shuffle across the back seat and get out on the pavement side if it looked as if there weren't going to be any convenient gaps in the traffic.

[NY]

My friend's dad often didn't wear a seat belt. He said that when his car was hit from the side once many years earlier, he just moved across into the passenger seat to avoid being hit. I presume the car had a bench seat and no centre gear-lever console. Nowadays with seat belts and centre consoles you wouldn't be able to do that - but then modern cars have much better side-impact protection.

I think the benefits of seat belts outweigh the disadvantages. My dad made us all wear seat belts from the early 1970s, so it became second nature to belt up in anyone's car. But a lot of cars of the time didn't make it easy to have rear belts fitted as an optional extra: he enquired about his Hillman Hunter and was told that it was a very difficult and costly job. Presumably the C pillars and floor pan weren't designed to be strong enough in those days.

The introduction of the mandatory wearing of front seat belts, and later rear ones, was a non-event for me because I never considered *not* wearing a seat belt.

[Max Demian]

Usually there is an emergency exit at the back or on the other side. Sometimes they just provide a hammer to smash a (toughened glass) window in a glass box. Maybe they should provide another hammer to break the glass of the box. In another glass box.

[rbowman]

My wife knew things were going to get interesting when I suggested she fasten her seat belt. There is a time and place for everything and I didn't want her sliding across the vinyl bench seat and winding up in my lap.

[Commander Kinsey]

No reason you can't have fold forwards seats in a 5 door.

No cars have absent central locking.

[Commander Kinsey]

And Corsas, a young lad boasted to me he had the 1.4 litre version! I'm not sure, but I think it could out-accelerate me running.

[Commander Kinsey]

Glad to see someone from the pre health and softy era.

[Tekkie©]

On Mon, 21 Jun 2021 22:33:13 -0400, Ed Pawlowski posted for all of us to digest...

Drink while driving; face traffic with confidence.

[Tekkie©]

On Tue, 22 Jun 2021 18:22:10 +1000, Xeno posted for all of us to digest...

Trashed that house... A full service fire company. I was involved in a rescue like that with a trash truck that we had to procure a few heavy timbers on a very short notice... The insurance co didn't want to pay. The state legislature changed that promptly. There was also a maximum enforcement effort on the trash co and suddenly reimbursement came through; although the trash co was already a steady contributer to local causes.

We also made non-convertibles, roof doors, dash-less cars, seat adjusters, hatchbacks.

[rbowman]

The stuff we got up to would have us locked up today. There were few casualties.