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:
In England last week, a horrible precedent was set regarding dooring. Sam Harding (25) died under the wheels of a close following bus after having a door, with home tinted windows so dark they allowed only 17% of normal light and visibility. The driver was cleared of Manslaughter and I understand that no action has been taken over the bus driver by his employers despite being so close he could neither stop in time nor avoid running Sam over.
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-20725496
Incidentally on the same day in a different court, a truck driver who ran over and permanently seriously injured Mary Bowers, despite her being visible to him for 10+ seconds beforehand and waiting in an advanced bike box, was given a £2700 fine and 8 month ban for ‘careless driving’. It wasn’t deemed dangerous because she didn’t die! However over here dangerous driving is a paltry sentence and used for killing by car, disgusting when compared to the manslaughter charge that usually follows the e.g. drunken 1 punch fight that sees the victim hit their head and die.
Mary B link http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/2700-fine-is-an-insult-says-father-of-critically-injured-cyclist-mary-bowers-8417866.html
Bob S
If what you say is true then the bike lanes are too close to the doors of the parked cars. That is why ALL drivers have to check behind them before they open their door.
I wouldn’t count on what “ALL drivers have to do”. Count on what you can do: improve your bike-handling and people-behavior-predicting skills, sharpen your reflex, and, you know, just ride smarter than the drivers around you.
Make it a habit to open the door with the opposite-side hand! Genius!
Local traffic safety campaigners need to promote this (until of course proper safe bicycle paths are built).
When I first saw that picture I thought that it was a dinosaur instead of a kangaroo. Great post though – I have never been “doored” before but I am on the look out so that never happens to me.
-Aaron, recently watched leadville bike race