She says...

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34106, 19 March 1976, Page 15

She says...

“Don't slam the (crash!) door, please There you sit with ringing ears, wondering how on earth you can ever succeed in getting the message across to confirmed door-slammers. The warnings never seem to work — at least partly because the door's already on its high-speed way towards the car by the time you get the words out. As I once heard one anguished car-owner say, they “stand off and sling the door at the car.” My husband insists that women are by far the worst door-siammers, but I don't think I can really agree with that one. I’ve seen and heard plenty of male door-slammers in action. too. and they often put even more oomph into it than the women.

You’ve got to admit, just the same, that some car doors are so out of adjust-! ment, badly made, or just I plain poorly designed that, they make siamming an essential — and once a per-] son's used to having to] slam, they're inclined to do it al! the time. Our car’s surprisingly I good in this respect: the doors close firmly with a very light push, yet they still seem to keep the dust out. But it does mean that mv somewhat “car-proud" husband is particularly touchy about doorslamming. and at times I “Doift-slam-the .... door”| seems to be about his most commonly-used motoring I phrase.

But there's more against door-slamming than the] damage it might do to] Jocks, and does do to] owners’ nerves Sometimes: there's something in the!

way. I'll never forget an incident in which an adult slammed a car-door when a youngster had her fingers' in the way As you'll readily imagine, a heavy car door can make a horrible: mess of young fingers. I’m told that persistent: door-slamming can damage locks, put the door out of kilter, upset the winding mechanism for the windows, and bring on a rash of rattles. In some convert-] ibles, which often have big heavy’ doors, it can even cause areas of door-metal to buckle. Car-makers are supposed, to spend hours and hours; testing the smooth closing: of their car doors, so if] you have to slam the doors to make them shut, there is almost certain to j be something wrong —I probably something a little ■ adjustment could fix. I