Separate Lanes, Laws Aren’t Enough to Stop Bicycle Dooring Incidents

May 11, 2017

  • May 11, 2017 at 10:54 am
    ChicagoCyclist says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 1
    Thumb down 0

    There is one effective strategy for cyclists to avoid getting doored: STAY OUT OF THE DOOR ZONE! When there is a 5 striped conventional bike lane to the left of parked cars, ride on the line. If you are riding along a narrower road with “sharrows” (i.e. marked shared lane symbols), or which has no on-pavement bikeway markings, then you must “take the lane” (i.e. ride in the middle of the lane, which you have the legal right to do). If you are on a narrower road, along which cars are backed up (very common in most cities) and you are riding along beside them, between the bumper-to-bumper cars in the travel lane and the parked cars (you are, therefore, in the door zone), then you MUST GO ABOUT AS SLOW AS A PERSON WALKING and keep your fingers on the brakes so that you can stop in time to avoid a door that suddenly opens in front of you. If you ride in the door zone, you will eventually get doored. Dooring crashes are often fatal or incapacitating, because the cyclist is thrown into traffic after hitting the door.

  • May 11, 2017 at 2:44 pm
    steve says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    Riding closer than 3-4 feet to the left of parked cars is suicide. I have witnessed 3 door accidents but never been a victim. I also saw a cop take out a rider in front of me. Problem is the bike rider that goes down can also take out all the other riders behind and beside him. CA has had a door law for many years.

  • May 12, 2017 at 9:15 am
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 2
    Thumb down 0

    As cited, promote Dutch Reach: http://www.dutchreach.org
    Get it into drivers manuals, drivers ed, on road test as the Dutch have for 50 years.

    Teach drivers, passengers, kids to use far hand to open as forces swivel, turn to look at side mirror, out & back over shoulder. It slows, limits initial door opening giving cyclists warning time to shout. Driver retains hand on door and can pull it back. Driver get direct view back once door is partly opened. Driver exits facing traffic.



Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*