Have you ever wondered why your antique Fords often only has one door lock on the passenger side door? But not one on the driver side? Here is a clue as to why Ford did that this way and it wasn’t to save a little cash.

For those not interested in the video:

So the reason stems from a common city wide set of laws across the US. In most major Cities it was illegal for the driver to exit his vehicle on the driver side when the car was parked on the street. To further reduce this laws where put in place to remove the locks on the driver side doors. Making it so that you have to lock the door from the inside and slide over and exit the vehicle form the passenger side. Onto the safety of the sidewalk. This also reduced the need for people to stand in the street and fumble for their keys while standing in traffic. The program actually did help reduce people getting struck by cars. But after WW2 the laws where loosened and it was not a requirement for the car industry to maintain the one door lock policy.

Was this article a help? Consider supporting the Flat-Spot by becoming a Premium Member. Members get discounts with well known retailers, a cool membership packet full of goodies and your membership goes toward helping us upkeep and expand on this great archive.