The Doors!
You’ve just parked, turned off your car, and given a sigh of relief that you’re no longer stuck in traffic. You reach for your things, kick open your door and CRASH!
Okay, so you didn’t “door” a cyclist. But you very well could have! Just because you stopped driving doesn’t mean you can stop looking. Dooring is one of the most common crashes for cyclists. And in many areas (including Massachusetts) the driver is at fault for opening their door in the path of oncoming traffic! So remember:
Funny thing is, you are preaching to the choir here… Because we ride, we know about the door zone, and that we should always look when operating a cage. The problem is the other 92.85 percent of the drivers that have never ridden a bicycle and have watched in slow motion a person with a laptop bag, purse, cup of coffee and a bagel stuck in there mouth fling a door open into a travel lane. I see it every single day.
How do we get the bikey face message out to the drivers?
I look for vehicle occupants to evaluate my dooring risk and ride accordingly.
in San Francisco where there is decent bicycle infrastructure, i know that you are at greater dooring risk during rain: passengers/drivers are rushing for shelter.
In an effort to keep discussions constructive I am actively moderating comments. Please be polite and respect that there are many perspectives and points of view. Feel free to add your opinions to the conversation- this can be done in a couple of comments. However, there is no need to dominate the conversation and reply to every comment expressing a different opinion. I want to keep comment area a welcoming place for discussion for all Bikeyface readers. Thanks!
Yes, please do moderate, it’s scary here, despite the great cartoon.
Bikeyface, I had my first dooring experience two days ago, and I look a lot like the woman you drew. Are you channelling my life experience? As always, awesome comic!