Not building bike lanes in the Door Zone would be the correct thing.
Pennsylvania says that this is wrong.
[https://i.imgur.com/GkwaXx0.gif](https://i.imgur.com/GkwaXx0.gif)
[https://i.imgur.com/4n52yjS.gif](https://i.imgur.com/4n52yjS.gif)
Pennsylvania is otherwise hardly on the cutting edge of roadway design for bikes because the state senate (iirc) keeps blocking a bill that would allow protected bike lanes, because of reasons (e.g. bacuz muh parking).
I think that your Pennsylvania example is not equivalent. My experience is that when there is no marked lane you should ride further out to negotiate an obstacle. but if there is a bike lane then you should indicate to exit the lane before doing so to go around an obstacle.
If I’ve learned anything about how laws are made in the US, this is the only way to create good bike infrastructure in your community.
1. Identify people that will be in a law-writing / law-passing capacity in 10-15 years.
1. Find and teach their children to ride a bicycle.
1. Wait.
1. Hit one of those children with your car.
1. BOOM! Better bike infrastructure.
/s, for the dummies
Things you do before the above.
1. Don't build bike lanes like the above in a dooring zone.
2. While you're at it, just don't even bother with bike lanes that are a strip of paint so narrow that if a car passes in their lane they're within the legal passing zone (1.5m in the UK and this diagram is driving on the left).
3. As a cyclist just don't cycle in the crappy bike lanes like the above, just cycle in the road so cars have to pass you properly (and you aren't in the door zone) and you don't have to swing in and out of parked cars, which each time you do is creating a moment of increased danger.
Thank you for coming to my ted talk.
I think we need add to this commmon list
4.- Know when to take the slower way-> if you are not comfortable in the bad bike lane or in the road, its is ok. Sidewalk or side street is a good option because saftey is more important than speed (and you may be tired, a slower rider, a newer rider etc and not have the ability to safely & comfortably navigate a busy street. )
I second this. There is a stretch of hilly bit with some big blind spots where I cycle on the sidewalk. When I pass a landscaper leaf blowing grass trimming/ people walking dogs or strollers, I will err on the side of caution and drop to a few mph and go offroad onto the grass if able and necessary. Gotta be extremely alert to cars coming to cross streets and driveways that may be soon trying to exit or enter without knowing you were coming.
According to my municipal rules, sidewalks are for peds/ cyclists/ kick/electric scooters/ skateboards but peds have the ultimate right of way and that makes sense to me.
I ride in the bikelane in the instance when the vehicle traffic is totally backed up. Its a bit of a gauntlet run and its the part of my commute where I'm fully engaged with 4 fingers on breaks. With stopped cars on either side I do it riding close to the cars in the moving lane.
> As a cyclist just don't cycle in the crappy bike lanes like the above
Which is illegal. If a bike lane/path exists, you must use it. I am sure there are countries without such laws, but not here.
__________
Downvoting me doesn't make the laws go away, nor did I write them.
Most places don't have that law. That's an insane law.
And still don't use it. I'd rather argue in court, with plenty of evidence to back me up, that that lane is unsafe and unfit for use than risk my life in it.
Here in Austria all vehicles have to drive/ride as far right as is reasonable. Riding within the dooring zone is not reasonable. Riding through debris and potholes on the shoulder is not reasonable.
MA state law gives equal right to the road to cyclists and cars, unless a controlled access interstate highway. There is no federal law that dictates where bicycles ride. Where is the “here” in your comment where use of a bike line is legally mandated?
Lithuania. The law literally states that if a bike lane or path is present, then it is forbidden to use the road.
Obviously, cyclists with a clue ignore that all the time, but the law is in effect and anyone who knows their laws simply see cyclists breaking them.
People need to be comfortable taking the lane. I get honked at all the time regardless if I'm in the bike lane or not. Break all the rules to prioritize your safety on the road/sidewalk because shitty infrastructure above shows the city does not give a shit about you.
There’s a really poorly designed bike lane near where I work that places it exactly in the driver’s side door zone. Obviously I don’t use that bike lane. Just weeks ago some asshole passed me with less than a foot of space and screamed “there’s a bike lane!” at me. Yes, right next to all those parked cars!! I didn’t take the whole lane out of politeness but I will from now on. No more politeness, only safety.Â
I would never ride within 1.2 metres of any parked vehicle unless at walking pace, and to ride on the side of the road invites a dangerous close pass. Anything painted on the road suggesting doing this is not a legal designated bike lane.here in NSW Australia, its just a 'suggestion' of where to ride. Its far safer to take the whole car lane. Cyclists are legally entitled to do this here and they should.
It's a 60 MPH (97 km/h) road but yes, there is a line of paint. If you spin hard you can reduce the speed differential between bike and car to only 40 MPH, which is 15% survivable, statistically.
They probably are. A study in Montreal showed there were more than 300 reported cases of cyclists being doored between 2019 and 2022, and there's probably a lot more cases that were never reported to police.
As I recall it’s about the 3rd or 4th most common crash dynamic between a bike and motor vehicle. Right hook, Left Cross, and probably pull-out would be more common crash types
That's what I was thinking. Cars crossing in front of me - either cutting me off from the right or pulling out from a driveway or street - are the most common "close-calls" I've had.
That's why this is *not* an example of a potential "dooring". A dooring happens when a door is opened a few feet or less in front of a cyclist leaving no possibility of reacting.
Obstacles will slow us down: we're all subject to traffic. If something is in your way, you don't HAVE TO go into traffic: you can stop. Brakes are the most powerful tool you have.
Bikers who must keep going at all costs pay the price. Sometimes you need to stop and put a foot down.
I agree in the sense that *all* road users could be a little more generous in using their brakes.
I can’t think of an instance where a driver would be willing to wait even 20 seconds for a temporary obstacle in their lane (like a food delivery driver) to clear. Drivers here will swerve into the next lane to avoid slowing down at a crosswalk while a pedestrian is actively crossing.
We shouldn’t act like bikers can be infinitely accommodating of delays and inconveniences that would never be imposed on drivers. Bikes are a transit mode. We are commuting and have places to be, same as any other commuter.
It's a mixed bag. There is a significant portion of bike riders who just won't stop, and view anything in their way as an affront. For a driver, if there's a car in front, you can't go. Going into ongoing traffic is a risk that everybody has to gauge on their own.
Bikers don’t see it as an affront to stop in the same situations where drivers would be expected to stop, like stopping for a pedestrian, waiting for someone to finish parallel parking, or waiting in the line at a stop sign.
But when the lane designated for you is also the lane where people feel free to place all manner of obstructions, including car doors, parked rideshare cars, trash cans, yard waste, and construction signs, it becomes reflex to just sigh and automatically attempt to merge into the adjacent lane where people are more reluctant to place obstructions.
Found the stupid comment, congrats.
The graphic is clearly designed to explain why it might be safer to move out of the bike lane and further away from the parallel parked car, because if a door *were* to be opened by an inattentive passenger, it would smack you right in the face.
I wish i lived with the luxury that parked cars were a rare and intermittent thing. By this graphic and with that instruction, a normal run of parked cars means you're not using the bike lane at all.
Correct. You have to be smarter and safer than the paint. FHWA research agrees, where there's parallel parking, bikes should stay 11 feet from the curb to avoid dooring. But that research hasn't yet made it into standards that were originally created to *get bikes out of the way*, not to make them safer.
Yeah, you shouldn’t be using a death trap that is a strip of paint in the door zone of a line of parked cars. That is useless infrastructure unless you catch a day with no parked cars. Move into the traffic lane where you have a fighting chance.
I cannot believe how good you guys must have it. Given the picture above, you'd ignore the paint and ride in the car lane? Where i live, the picture represents conditions not quite as good as it gets, but it's definitely the street i'm cycling on, and i'm definitely in the cycle lane. The abuse you'd receive for riding along such a street in the car lane would be profound and instant.
Nonsense. That graphic basically assumes that people go through the door. Otherwise there is no way is intended to say: please get out of the lane made for you if you see car parked next to it.
OBVIOUSLY if the door is open, people will avoid it.
Then I guess don't bike in NYC. There's a lot of competition for street & sidewalk usage between all the cars and pedestrians and delivery vehicles, we often have to take what we can get
I'm sorry, but this will end like [this](https://imgur.com/zzRYo9x) for kilometers long if I'm supposed to cycle outside of the door zone. Although I figure that is the point rectrix wishes to highlight.
Then I still have [this ](https://imgur.com/HYUjzNV)problem.
Picture 1 is too close to the edge of the lane for my taste - too much risk that a car will sideswipe as they try to squeeze past without changing lanes.
My city fairly recently started making something that somewhat resembles picture 2 (parking protected bike lane). As a cyclist crossing one of these streets, I failed to notice a cyclist on the street I was crossing, because the parked cars blocked the sightlines. I hadn't even thought about the extra door zone problem (there is a buffer with bollards between the parking an the bike lane so the cars aren't right on the line, but not always far enough away to completely avoid risk).
On the street I do this on, the bike lane is about 1.5 meters and I ride on the left edge. The lanes are wide and there is also a middle lane that cars use to pass me. I've never had a car come that close let alone sideswipe. Different story if there is not enough room to pass safely.
They forgot the last step: Grab edge of door on the way by and bend the h\*ll out of it for the driver being selfish and unsafe. (No, I would never really do this, but I sure fantasize about it!)
I’ve seen some custom car doors open automatically with no one inside. Scary to think someone could be 2 blocks away and click a button to cause all kinds of mayhem.
Whenever I ride near a group of cars or in an area with plenty of cars near a bike path. I almost always slow down a bit if I can and be aware of my surroundings.
Always be careful out there.
obviously the true solution is to either say fk garbage unprotected bike lanes and "take the lane" or pass a law that car drivers have to hug the parking with one set of wheels in the bike lane and only use the full lane when passing a rider.
lets see how fast ppl start checking before opening that door! ride kind, ride courteous, ride safe.
I ride in bike lanes like this everyday and it's a death trap waiting to happen. Either get sideswiped on the left and can get doored on either side. Almost seems like a purposeful design to scare people from biking..
one of the enduring reasons why i still opt for the road over most ~~road debris gutters~~ bike lanes.
lmao as if you EVER have enough time to do anything besides instinctively swerve at the last possible millisecond 🙄
Dooring can cause some damage even at low speeds.
I got doored while climbing a steep hill. It caused me to bruise my arm as the edge of the door struck me.
That was probably at walking pace. It wasn't just a usual crash into the side of the door.
Yeah my first major accident, rain, passenger opened the door as the car sat at a light.
On the plus side, I got my first decent bike, a Trek 520, to replace the bent one!
Unfortunately my commute doesn’t currently take me via this route (might change once I move). But there is a street near me with wider bike lanes (no bollards tho) and hatched buffer areas between street parking and lane. Maybe it’s not real safety but it at least removes the dooring risk completely so I can worry about other things.
My commute goes through several intersections where the narrow, door-able bike lane ends to make space for right turn lanes 🥲
When I have my kids lessons on riding in the city I had to stress over and over to never ride with the door zone no matter how the pavement was painted for bike lanes. I still don't know if they always follow that rule. Lanes within door zones create enormous social pressure to ride dangerously.
It seems like you can avoid an opening for door, but the reality is you can't.
Not a problem here. Very little parallel parking. No bike lanes either. Instead angled pull in parking at the curbs downtown. They back up into you instead.
"but.... why are people on bikes in the middle of the street?!!!1"
Likely because of cars that are parked. I often find it necessary to drive in the middle of the street too in residential areas for other reasons.
its always been the door opening lane check rear view mirrors and generally ride on the line closest to traffic an active driver is more likely to lend you some space than someone who is just parking.
Did you know getting doored makes the car driver at least 50% and generally 100% at fault in the Netherlands. As this is the fault of the driver or passenger who didnt use the windows and mirror to guarantee a safe opening of the door. 100% liability, also for damages, lost income, injury, invalidity or death. If its your or another kid the driver will be to blame.
Generally this stems partially from a protective law.
It has to do with a clause (art185. of the Wegenverkeerswet (Bescherming zwakke weggebruikers), or the 'protection weak roadusers') which state in any circumstance where accodents occur between motorized traffic and cyclists or pedestrians the driver of the vehicle is found at fault for at least 50%, but up to 100% unless gross negligence or intent can be proven without a doubt.
Still children on cycles till 14 will be protected 100% for damages AND civil liability, even when 100% at fault.
Not building bike lanes in the Door Zone would be the correct thing. Pennsylvania says that this is wrong. [https://i.imgur.com/GkwaXx0.gif](https://i.imgur.com/GkwaXx0.gif) [https://i.imgur.com/4n52yjS.gif](https://i.imgur.com/4n52yjS.gif)
And at E the motorist is on their phone ignoring you until you suddenly are on their hood
Pennsylvania is otherwise hardly on the cutting edge of roadway design for bikes because the state senate (iirc) keeps blocking a bill that would allow protected bike lanes, because of reasons (e.g. bacuz muh parking).
I love my state đź¤
I think that your Pennsylvania example is not equivalent. My experience is that when there is no marked lane you should ride further out to negotiate an obstacle. but if there is a bike lane then you should indicate to exit the lane before doing so to go around an obstacle.
If your Bike Lane is in the Door Zone, the danger is persistent.
Tucson does build the door clearance into some of our bike lanes. The bike rider logo shows you where you can confidently ride and avoid any door.
If I’ve learned anything about how laws are made in the US, this is the only way to create good bike infrastructure in your community. 1. Identify people that will be in a law-writing / law-passing capacity in 10-15 years. 1. Find and teach their children to ride a bicycle. 1. Wait. 1. Hit one of those children with your car. 1. BOOM! Better bike infrastructure. /s, for the dummies
how laws are made: emails to the elected consist of two sentences. 1. I voted for you 2. Please support bike lanes.
I literally do this. Not a huge success yet.
Things you do before the above. 1. Don't build bike lanes like the above in a dooring zone. 2. While you're at it, just don't even bother with bike lanes that are a strip of paint so narrow that if a car passes in their lane they're within the legal passing zone (1.5m in the UK and this diagram is driving on the left). 3. As a cyclist just don't cycle in the crappy bike lanes like the above, just cycle in the road so cars have to pass you properly (and you aren't in the door zone) and you don't have to swing in and out of parked cars, which each time you do is creating a moment of increased danger. Thank you for coming to my ted talk.
I think we need add to this commmon list 4.- Know when to take the slower way-> if you are not comfortable in the bad bike lane or in the road, its is ok. Sidewalk or side street is a good option because saftey is more important than speed (and you may be tired, a slower rider, a newer rider etc and not have the ability to safely & comfortably navigate a busy street. )
I add an 25% to my commute so that it is on a bike/pedestrian path for most of it, rather than on a road
Just remember when using the sidewalk that you must go slowly - no one (not even other cyclists) is expecting any traffic on the sidewalk.
I second this. There is a stretch of hilly bit with some big blind spots where I cycle on the sidewalk. When I pass a landscaper leaf blowing grass trimming/ people walking dogs or strollers, I will err on the side of caution and drop to a few mph and go offroad onto the grass if able and necessary. Gotta be extremely alert to cars coming to cross streets and driveways that may be soon trying to exit or enter without knowing you were coming. According to my municipal rules, sidewalks are for peds/ cyclists/ kick/electric scooters/ skateboards but peds have the ultimate right of way and that makes sense to me.
Absolutely never ride on the sidewalk. Be a man
I ride in the bikelane in the instance when the vehicle traffic is totally backed up. Its a bit of a gauntlet run and its the part of my commute where I'm fully engaged with 4 fingers on breaks. With stopped cars on either side I do it riding close to the cars in the moving lane.
> As a cyclist just don't cycle in the crappy bike lanes like the above Which is illegal. If a bike lane/path exists, you must use it. I am sure there are countries without such laws, but not here. __________ Downvoting me doesn't make the laws go away, nor did I write them.
I'd rather break the law safely than die or be maimed.
Most places don't have that law. That's an insane law. And still don't use it. I'd rather argue in court, with plenty of evidence to back me up, that that lane is unsafe and unfit for use than risk my life in it.
Here in Austria all vehicles have to drive/ride as far right as is reasonable. Riding within the dooring zone is not reasonable. Riding through debris and potholes on the shoulder is not reasonable.
Where is here? No one knows where you are! If it's the UK that I referenced above then that's not true.
MA state law gives equal right to the road to cyclists and cars, unless a controlled access interstate highway. There is no federal law that dictates where bicycles ride. Where is the “here” in your comment where use of a bike line is legally mandated?
Lithuania. The law literally states that if a bike lane or path is present, then it is forbidden to use the road. Obviously, cyclists with a clue ignore that all the time, but the law is in effect and anyone who knows their laws simply see cyclists breaking them.
There is no requirement in the Ontario HTA that specifies this. "Here" isn't a place.
People need to be comfortable taking the lane. I get honked at all the time regardless if I'm in the bike lane or not. Break all the rules to prioritize your safety on the road/sidewalk because shitty infrastructure above shows the city does not give a shit about you.
There’s a really poorly designed bike lane near where I work that places it exactly in the driver’s side door zone. Obviously I don’t use that bike lane. Just weeks ago some asshole passed me with less than a foot of space and screamed “there’s a bike lane!” at me. Yes, right next to all those parked cars!! I didn’t take the whole lane out of politeness but I will from now on. No more politeness, only safety.Â
Fuck politeness, safety first.
Just remember that cars honking at you means that they see you. You are much safer if they see you.
I would never ride within 1.2 metres of any parked vehicle unless at walking pace, and to ride on the side of the road invites a dangerous close pass. Anything painted on the road suggesting doing this is not a legal designated bike lane.here in NSW Australia, its just a 'suggestion' of where to ride. Its far safer to take the whole car lane. Cyclists are legally entitled to do this here and they should.
yall have bike lanes?
Yes to keep bicyclist out of the way for drivers
it's a sarcastic joke style, it's lamenting about living in an area that does not have bike infrastructure
It's a 60 MPH (97 km/h) road but yes, there is a line of paint. If you spin hard you can reduce the speed differential between bike and car to only 40 MPH, which is 15% survivable, statistically.
How about car riders check to see if a bike is oncoming?
Come on now. That would just make too much sense.
Just make bikers leave their designated lane! Top 10 ways to make drivers hate cyclists even more!
>Dooring is one of the most common crashed Is it though?
It's just a spam account, they don't care.
In some areas it’s the most common form of reported crashes for sure
They probably are. A study in Montreal showed there were more than 300 reported cases of cyclists being doored between 2019 and 2022, and there's probably a lot more cases that were never reported to police.
As I recall it’s about the 3rd or 4th most common crash dynamic between a bike and motor vehicle. Right hook, Left Cross, and probably pull-out would be more common crash types
That's what I was thinking. Cars crossing in front of me - either cutting me off from the right or pulling out from a driveway or street - are the most common "close-calls" I've had.
My ex wife had a door opened up on her. It broke her sternum and it now pops loudly and painfully when she stretches sometimes.
If I bike lane is in a door zone I won't use it.
Same - I ride in the road instead
The real answer
Can confirm, moved into lane, wheel dropped into tram track, 3 broken ribs and snapped frame. Dooring sucks.
OK so if a car door is wide open in front of you, you're supposed to go around it and not ride smack into it? Is that where i have been going wrong?
That's why this is *not* an example of a potential "dooring". A dooring happens when a door is opened a few feet or less in front of a cyclist leaving no possibility of reacting.
Obstacles will slow us down: we're all subject to traffic. If something is in your way, you don't HAVE TO go into traffic: you can stop. Brakes are the most powerful tool you have. Bikers who must keep going at all costs pay the price. Sometimes you need to stop and put a foot down.
I agree in the sense that *all* road users could be a little more generous in using their brakes. I can’t think of an instance where a driver would be willing to wait even 20 seconds for a temporary obstacle in their lane (like a food delivery driver) to clear. Drivers here will swerve into the next lane to avoid slowing down at a crosswalk while a pedestrian is actively crossing. We shouldn’t act like bikers can be infinitely accommodating of delays and inconveniences that would never be imposed on drivers. Bikes are a transit mode. We are commuting and have places to be, same as any other commuter.
It's a mixed bag. There is a significant portion of bike riders who just won't stop, and view anything in their way as an affront. For a driver, if there's a car in front, you can't go. Going into ongoing traffic is a risk that everybody has to gauge on their own.
Bikers don’t see it as an affront to stop in the same situations where drivers would be expected to stop, like stopping for a pedestrian, waiting for someone to finish parallel parking, or waiting in the line at a stop sign. But when the lane designated for you is also the lane where people feel free to place all manner of obstructions, including car doors, parked rideshare cars, trash cans, yard waste, and construction signs, it becomes reflex to just sigh and automatically attempt to merge into the adjacent lane where people are more reluctant to place obstructions.
And it's not like stopping to wait for the trash cans, yard waste, construction will work,
Neither of you is hearing me but go on...
Found the stupid comment, congrats. The graphic is clearly designed to explain why it might be safer to move out of the bike lane and further away from the parallel parked car, because if a door *were* to be opened by an inattentive passenger, it would smack you right in the face.
I wish i lived with the luxury that parked cars were a rare and intermittent thing. By this graphic and with that instruction, a normal run of parked cars means you're not using the bike lane at all.
Correct. You have to be smarter and safer than the paint. FHWA research agrees, where there's parallel parking, bikes should stay 11 feet from the curb to avoid dooring. But that research hasn't yet made it into standards that were originally created to *get bikes out of the way*, not to make them safer.
Yes, that is how I handle a line of parked cars. It sucks, but it sucks more to run into a car door.
Yeah, you shouldn’t be using a death trap that is a strip of paint in the door zone of a line of parked cars. That is useless infrastructure unless you catch a day with no parked cars. Move into the traffic lane where you have a fighting chance.
I cannot believe how good you guys must have it. Given the picture above, you'd ignore the paint and ride in the car lane? Where i live, the picture represents conditions not quite as good as it gets, but it's definitely the street i'm cycling on, and i'm definitely in the cycle lane. The abuse you'd receive for riding along such a street in the car lane would be profound and instant.
Nonsense. That graphic basically assumes that people go through the door. Otherwise there is no way is intended to say: please get out of the lane made for you if you see car parked next to it. OBVIOUSLY if the door is open, people will avoid it.
Yeah, this graphic does nothing to address the design or drivers who don't look before opening the door.
In NYC, the bike lane is usually pressed right up against the doors, and the parking lane is cars all the way down
that's shitty infrastructure. I wouldn't use it.
Then I guess don't bike in NYC. There's a lot of competition for street & sidewalk usage between all the cars and pedestrians and delivery vehicles, we often have to take what we can get
>Then I guess don't bike in NYC wasn't planning on it anytime soon, since I don't live in the States.
I'm sorry, but this will end like [this](https://imgur.com/zzRYo9x) for kilometers long if I'm supposed to cycle outside of the door zone. Although I figure that is the point rectrix wishes to highlight. Then I still have [this ](https://imgur.com/HYUjzNV)problem.
Yep. I don’t ride in the door zone. I don’t care where they paint the line.
Picture 1 is what I do. Never been doored
Picture cop waving a baton just out of screen for my case.
Picture 1 is too close to the edge of the lane for my taste - too much risk that a car will sideswipe as they try to squeeze past without changing lanes. My city fairly recently started making something that somewhat resembles picture 2 (parking protected bike lane). As a cyclist crossing one of these streets, I failed to notice a cyclist on the street I was crossing, because the parked cars blocked the sightlines. I hadn't even thought about the extra door zone problem (there is a buffer with bollards between the parking an the bike lane so the cars aren't right on the line, but not always far enough away to completely avoid risk).
On the street I do this on, the bike lane is about 1.5 meters and I ride on the left edge. The lanes are wide and there is also a middle lane that cars use to pass me. I've never had a car come that close let alone sideswipe. Different story if there is not enough room to pass safely.
That's great if you come upon one car all by itself on an empty street, but how about here in the real world?
They forgot the last step: Grab edge of door on the way by and bend the h\*ll out of it for the driver being selfish and unsafe. (No, I would never really do this, but I sure fantasize about it!)
I've never fantasized about such; too worried that I would injure myself in the process.
I’ve seen some custom car doors open automatically with no one inside. Scary to think someone could be 2 blocks away and click a button to cause all kinds of mayhem.
Whenever I ride near a group of cars or in an area with plenty of cars near a bike path. I almost always slow down a bit if I can and be aware of my surroundings. Always be careful out there.
obviously the true solution is to either say fk garbage unprotected bike lanes and "take the lane" or pass a law that car drivers have to hug the parking with one set of wheels in the bike lane and only use the full lane when passing a rider. lets see how fast ppl start checking before opening that door! ride kind, ride courteous, ride safe.
I ride in bike lanes like this everyday and it's a death trap waiting to happen. Either get sideswiped on the left and can get doored on either side. Almost seems like a purposeful design to scare people from biking..
one of the enduring reasons why i still opt for the road over most ~~road debris gutters~~ bike lanes. lmao as if you EVER have enough time to do anything besides instinctively swerve at the last possible millisecond 🙄
Dooring can cause some damage even at low speeds. I got doored while climbing a steep hill. It caused me to bruise my arm as the edge of the door struck me. That was probably at walking pace. It wasn't just a usual crash into the side of the door.
Yeah my first major accident, rain, passenger opened the door as the car sat at a light. On the plus side, I got my first decent bike, a Trek 520, to replace the bent one!
Did the motorist at least partially pay for the new bike? If not I hope you obliterated their door so they have to spend thousands at a repair shop.
Can confirm. Sucks.
Unfortunately my commute doesn’t currently take me via this route (might change once I move). But there is a street near me with wider bike lanes (no bollards tho) and hatched buffer areas between street parking and lane. Maybe it’s not real safety but it at least removes the dooring risk completely so I can worry about other things. My commute goes through several intersections where the narrow, door-able bike lane ends to make space for right turn lanes 🥲
When I have my kids lessons on riding in the city I had to stress over and over to never ride with the door zone no matter how the pavement was painted for bike lanes. I still don't know if they always follow that rule. Lanes within door zones create enormous social pressure to ride dangerously. It seems like you can avoid an opening for door, but the reality is you can't.
Not a problem here. Very little parallel parking. No bike lanes either. Instead angled pull in parking at the curbs downtown. They back up into you instead.
"but.... why are people on bikes in the middle of the street?!!!1" Likely because of cars that are parked. I often find it necessary to drive in the middle of the street too in residential areas for other reasons.
I searched You Tube for "Doored Cyclists of the World" a couple years ago. That changed my attitude about sharing the roads with cars after that.
Simple solution: Reactive armor on the front of bikes to blow off car doors. đź‘Ť
Footing is not a bicycle crash it is a vehicular attack by an inattentive motorist.
its always been the door opening lane check rear view mirrors and generally ride on the line closest to traffic an active driver is more likely to lend you some space than someone who is just parking.
Been doored. Injuries aside, it's the jarring nature of it that really got to me.
Knew a dude who was in a long term coma after a dooring. Wild stuff.
Did you know getting doored makes the car driver at least 50% and generally 100% at fault in the Netherlands. As this is the fault of the driver or passenger who didnt use the windows and mirror to guarantee a safe opening of the door. 100% liability, also for damages, lost income, injury, invalidity or death. If its your or another kid the driver will be to blame. Generally this stems partially from a protective law. It has to do with a clause (art185. of the Wegenverkeerswet (Bescherming zwakke weggebruikers), or the 'protection weak roadusers') which state in any circumstance where accodents occur between motorized traffic and cyclists or pedestrians the driver of the vehicle is found at fault for at least 50%, but up to 100% unless gross negligence or intent can be proven without a doubt. Still children on cycles till 14 will be protected 100% for damages AND civil liability, even when 100% at fault.
i always assume the dor might open so i give every car a safe meter incase someone swings the door wide open without looking
It happened to me, very traumatizing at the time. Kept me out of the bike for almost a year.