Number of cyclists injured in dooring incidents up a quarter from 2009 to 2011, says MP

One of the very first things you teach people when doing Level 2/3 Bikeability training is to cycle out of the door zone. In practice, a good rule of thumb is halfway between the parked cars and the middle of the road, except for very narrow roads, where your position will be closer to the middle. This applies even where there are marked cycle lanes. There is nothing quite as satisfying as seeing someone ahead of you open their door without looking, and not having to adjust your position. Also, in Dutch schools they teach kids to open car doors with the hand furthest away from the door. This has the effect of turning you round so that you see anyone coming up on the outside of the vehicle. Try it. Better than using the mirror, which may not be properly adjusted and have blind spots.

I recently got caught out using a cycle lane
and a passenger in a car stopped in traffic
opened the door into me (literally - I ended
up with a deep hole in my chest).
Most annoying thing was that normally
I overtake traffic on the right and keep well
away because of possible doorings but because there was a cycle lane there....

How the Dutch do it. Photo taken in Amsterdam a couple of years ago. Notice no one rides in the door zone.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/64216421@N07/6078899423/in/set-72157629817390527/

If you go too far out a speeding chelsea tractor if you go too close you are doored Car Drivers. . .

This is a subject close to my heart. At Vélo Mondial 2000, I mounted a Poster Presentation to draw attention to the design of Car Doors — many of which are finished at an acute angle in the top rearmost corner, just where a Cyclist is likely to pitch forward in the case of it being opened in his/her path. Some even have exposed glass at this point. The then Transport Minister (and occasional Cycle-user,) Steven Norris, was most unhelpful, declaring to the effect that it was up to Cycle-users to watch out for themselves. I photographed several suspect designs — possibly the worst is the Peugeot 309, followed closely by the Austin Maestro — and have always intended to take this up with PACTS, but have repeatedly been overtaken by a constant supply of other Campaign priorities.

I would say that the problem could be at least partially obviated by introducing ‘graduated’ licensing — whereby all prospective Learner Drivers would be required to attain (an advanced, adult-oriented) Cycle Proficiency Certificate before even applying for any provisional Driving Licence. This should teach them what it was like to be vulnerable, and to greatly enhance their awareness of Cycle Traffic. At present, there is a large proportion of our population that has never ridden a Bicycle...some of them even go on to become Highway Engineers!

Mention of Highway Engineers (and this includes Transport Planners) brings me to the other part of the argument: in my experience, when it comes to dealing with Cycling infrastructure, the majority are utterly incompetent! Please see my example, which was only completed recently as part of the Olympic Games support projects: believe it or not, it was billed as a ‘road safety’ measure, to assist competitors travelling to a practice facility!

There is no point in throwing money at Cycling until these aspects are addressed. Staff at all levels of Government need to be properly trained in this specialised area before being let loose to provide further counter-productive, and often hazardous designs.

100% agreed with SimonE. Never ever cycle closer than a door's width from parked cars. Your safety & well-being is more than worth a few seconds extra journey time for those behind.

Others to watch out for:

* Is there someone in the driver's seat? If yes, they may be about to move off.
* Watch the front wheels, if they start to turn the driver is about to pull out - don't assume they've seen you!

The road that I live on, it is pretty difficult not to be in one of the door zones of the cars parked either side, always be very wary of cars which have recently stopped in any situation.

recently moved to Melbourne, Aus and is a big problem, single biggest cause of cycling injuries in centre of city - parking outside shops is absolutely essential and typically the cycle lane is narrowish and in the door line - move further out and you are in cars driven at the limit and consider the narrow lane markings to be god given routes, very dark tinting makes spotting people in cars hard

Dooring is a specific offence though:

___________________________________
Dooring fines more than double in Victoria

By
Robert.Hunt
Published: November 29, 2012Posted in: General News The Age

Fines for dooring offences in Victoria have more than doubled – to a maximum court penalty of $1408.

The on-the-spot fine for dooring has risen to $352, up from $141 – up from one penalty unit to 2.5.

The maximum court penalty has risen from $423 (three penalty units) to $1408 (10 units).

VicRoads has begun an advertising campaign warning drivers to look for cyclists before they open a car door.

The ads say that under Rule 269(3) of the Victorian Road Safety Road Rules 2009, it is an offence to cause a hazard to a person or a vehicle by opening a door, leaving a door of a vehicle open or getting off or out of a vehicle.

The new fine scale began in August.

“This increase is to reflect the risk to bike riders and other road users from the risks of vehicle doors opening in their path,” the VicRoads ads say.

In tips for drivers and passengers, the ads say:

“When getting out of your car, always use your mirrors and do a head check before opening your door (one way to do this is to open the driver’s door with your left hand).

“When getting into your car, face the oncoming traffic so you can see bike riders and other road users travelling towards you. Do not open your car door until they have passed.

_____________________________________________

one thing that surprisingly does work is putting the on road cycle lane between the pavement and the parked cars - i use a lengthy section cycling into city and it feels very wierd but works - mrs antigee did get doored on one of these (taxi outside hospital) but as she said she fell onto pavement not under a bus

I see this as another example of the selfish, insular way that some people seem to operate - not just in cars but everywhere. Some seem to have no idea that anyone else exists or that they may have some duty of care to others in how they act. I don't think they do it deliberately - they just don't think. Years of motorcycle riding made me aware of drivers lack of skill and conditioned me to always look for bikes or cyclists. Then again, I always hold the door for people behind me and don;t just stop in the middle of a narrow pavement to chat, blocking everyones path. I would guess the same people would be guilty of poor driving and lack of awareness of others. Many without any personal experience of this kind of near miss will never change their ways without either becoming cyclists or motorcyclists themselves or by some kind of campaign along the lines of drink driving, backed up by hefty fines, long bans and the social stigma attached to being the cause of these incidents.
I read somewhere that to a cyclist the sound of a car door opening is akin to the sound of a gun being cocked. I always expected every driver to be an idiot and am yet to be disappointed - also apply this to pedestrians and it seems to work as well.

As well as educating drivers (and their passengers) to look before opening doors - and is it not actually a criminal offence anyway? - I would like drivers educated on why cyclists might be riding in the middle of the lane. It is not to get in the driver's way but to make them more visible and safer from these kinds of incidents.
It is also worth cyclists being aware that there are safer out in the lane than in the dooring zone. Very few drivers would deliberately ram someone in front of them but they wouldn't give a second thought to suddenly swinging open the car door once they have parked.

I don't understand why sliding doors are not obligatory on cars. They make much more sense - these 'accidents' (aka lack of attention) being an example, but also, easier to get in and out of the car in tight parking spaces etc. Oh, hang on, I know why. Cos' the rails they run on on the outside of the car won't look as nice will they.... Anyway, my Peugeot Partner has slidy rear doors, and they make life easier all round.

Last weekend I saw a driver very nearly knock a cyclist off by opening his door, and then yell at the cyclist that he was responsible because he was the one moving. Does no-one read the Highway Code? 239 says "you MUST ensure you do not hit anyone when you open your door. Check for cyclists or other traffic".

I like the way Dutch drivers are trained to look out for cyclists. They are taught to use their opposite hand to open the driver's door - i.e. in a left hand drive car, the driver uses his right hand to open his door which forces him to turn and look behind the car for cyclists.

I wonder if they open their doors to oncoming vehicles such as lorries or tractors. I think not

“But there are people who are not trained enough to look in their mirrors” are you f#@*ing kidding me! Then why are they even allowed to own a licence? And as regards passengers it is the driver’s responsibility for what they do, including cab drivers as they can lock their doors (black ones anyway). If I was to have an unsecured load on the back of a vehicle I would be responsible even if I was stopped and unloading and I hit someone or something with it so it is no different. Simple answer anyone involved (not the victim) in a “Dooring” incident has to resit their driving test as a minimum. I bet they will start to look then Rant over.

Happened to me in 2002, in Rome. I was on my way to work, on the last road, and had visually checked that no one had just parked. Obviously that didn't take into account the Guardia do Finanzia chap who'd been sitting in his car for a few minutes....

Impact was so hard I went over the top of the car door, bike and all. Broke the T4 vertebra in my back (and I'd only just recovered from breaking the T12 the same year whilst snowboarding).

Result, back to bed for 4-months....

Drivers are more worried about scratching their precious than leaving enough room on the curbside, so there is always plenty of room in the middle of the traffic streams

Obviously the onus should be on car occupants to check properly before opening doors.

Cyclists should wherever possible, not cycle in the door zone. That's easy to say, but sometimes impossible in practice, especially when filtering.

It doesn't help when local authorities paint farcical and dangerous cycle lanes that directly abut car parking:

My only dooring was in Westminster Square. A cab pulled up and the passenger opened the door on the road side rather than pavement side. Luckily for them it was only me that hit them and not a bus or a lorry. Not so lucky for me. It is quite exciting skidding across one of the busiest roads in London.

Of course, it didn't make the statistics. As the article says, reported incidents will be fewer than total incidents by a large amount.

If possible, I'll pass stationary traffic in the middle of the road. That way I can see both lanes of traffic and I'm clear of the dreaded 'door zone'. Seems much more sensible to me but it does require a level of confidence to zip between static and moving lines of traffic coming the opposite direction.

I was knocked off about 4 weeks ago by a child opening the door when getting out to go to school.
there was a long queue of standing traffice so I passed as safely as i could on the curb side as it states in the highway code.
I was knocked clean off, cleats & all & I lay on the grass verge. The parent didn't even ask if I was ok, it took the parents from the cars in front & behind to check on me! The bruise on my thigh took 2 weeks to disappear...now i pass the stationary traffic in the middle of the road, seems safer.

I always cycle far enough away from parked cars that I won't get doored. Instead I occasionally have following car drivers sounding their horn at me because I'm in their way!

My most serious cycling injury, a broken wrist, was from cycling too close to parked cars. A dog ran out from behind one, and I went over the handlebars.