It was a safety factor to have just one door lock. Like the other posts said, it was to keep you out of the traffic. Some of the Suburbans had three doors, with two of them on the passenger side just for this reason.
I think if you switch the door handles the lock will be upside down and not work right. The lock in mine maybe bad but it doesn't do anything if I lift up instead of push down to open the door. You might be able to turn the lock over in the handle but I couldn't tell you for sure. I will look at a spare handle I have to see.
You could always mount a small 12V battery to run the lock solenoids, it shouldn't take much to make them work.
Joe
