Driving with the Doors Open?

[Dangermouse]

I think in parades in Ireland and such they drive with the doors open, but its a parade, so they are going like 10 miles and hour...

Odd first part of the statement. You do know that they have parades in other parts of the world don't you?

And Evan, I hate to be "that guy" - I like you and appreciate your enthusiasm, but please stop rating every thread as 5-star. When every thread is 5-star, then the true 5-star ones don't stand out.

[Michael]

The safety of a vehicle is in its bumpers, and the crumple zones built in to the chassis of the vehicle........

I assume you are talking about cars in general since you said "a vehicle". The safety of a car is everywhere including the doors. Bumpers do nothing on today's cars except look pretty., Even in a 5mph collision they get beat up and most of the time need replacement. Doors on a normal car are the most structuraly supported body panel. They have to be in order to both operate and protect against side impact. Have you ever lifted a full door skin? On a compact car It's barely possible to handle even without the trim and glass. That because there is a inner metal liner and in most cases a protective bar or two that adds strength to the door panel. I'm all for you taking the doors off and driving to your hearts content. If you want to make a point its not illegal, go ahead and prove it in court(good luck with that).... but ignorant statements like that need to be addressed. In a side impact you would not be fine, you would be dead, and that's why its illegal except in cars that are designed to be operated without doors.

[Dangermouse]

Georgia law:

§ 40-8-72. Mirrors

Every motor vehicle which is so constructed or loaded as to obstruct the driver's view to the rear thereof from the driver's position shall be equipped with a mirror so located as to reflect to the driver a view of the highway for a distance of at least 200 feet to the rear of such vehicle.

I take this to mean that the standard windshield mounted mirror is sufficient in a regular Jeep. Whether the rear view from a D is 200ft with it's internal mirror is subject to interpretation IMHO

Nothing about doors.


As an aside, I found this "Price List" of fines for various offenses. Again, nothing about doors, either open or off.

[David T]

I have been in a lot of parades, we have the doors open all the time, we are going slowly though. There will be another parade again this year in Ship Bottom, New Jersey USA for those that are interested. It does get cold though! We used to throw candy to the kids, we don't do that anymore, concerns that the kids would run out into the parade to pick up candy and get run over. This time of the year there are a lot of local parades for Columbus Day and there have been numerous requests for all kinds of cars including Deloreans. When I enter or leave a car show I generally do it with the doors open but you do have to be careful when driving near people so you do not hit anyone with the doors.
David Teitelbaum

[Rich]

As long as the door hinges and struts are not taking large impulse loads there should not be a problem. As already noted, low speed on smooth pavement should be OK.

Factors that would load the structure would include the harshness of the shocks vs the smoothness of the road.

There have been a few reports of broken front door hinges in the past couple of years. We will probably not be able to correlate those failures to any previous door-open driving habits unless the owners know about it and tell us themselves.

It's safe to say that the chassis designers did not mean for the door hinges or the struts/mounts to take large impulse loads from an open door while driving normally. With hinges being rare it's a risky practice.

[Shep]

In a side impact you would not be fine, you would be dead, and that's why its illegal except in cars that are designed to be operated without doors.

This statement does not make any sense. The safety of a side impact has absolutely nothing to do with the legality of having the doors off. Again, how the hell is a cop going to know this information? And even if he did, what constitutes a car being designed to be operated without doors? Crash safety is entirely irrelevant to driving laws. Sorry for being blunt, but the law is not written this way, and I suggest you read up a bit before making false statements like this.

[Michael]

This statement does not make any sense. The safety of a side impact has absolutely nothing to do with the legality of having the doors off. Again, how the hell is a cop going to know this information? And even if he did, what constitutes a car being designed to be operated without doors? Crash safety is entirely irrelevant to driving laws. Sorry for being blunt, but the law is not written this way, and I suggest you read up a bit before making false statements like this.

just one I found, I'm sure I could take the time to look it up state by state, and I'm sure some states are a little different or relaxed about it...either way I really don't care that much. If it floats your boat to do it, go for it.
Wisconsin law:
Chapter Trans 305

STANDARDS FOR VEHICLE EQUIPMENT

Trans 305.19

(2) (a) Every motor vehicle, except those manufactured with removable doors or without doors, shall be equipped with doors. Open top designed vehicles are not required to have operating doors when the vehicle is operated without a top

[tyb323]

I have almost been ticketed for driving at 5mph in an empty parking lot with my doors open... Seriously...

[thirdmanj]

Driving with the open door very funny i see some drive the car open the door i also want do drive open the door in i will must try it ...

Yes is fun, much fun. Should try, you like. Go fast fast.

[searsgremlin]

i know in ct the law is you cannot drive with your car with the doors open or off or for that matter and any body panel missing. of course a lot of people get away with this. the only time they cant pull you over is if you have a dismantler plate, they used to be called junk plates. if you have a salvage yard license you can get these plates and as long as your driving the car back to the yard the car can be in any condition, in complete like just a shell or complete.