We all have passed for this situation, no matter where, how or when, the worst cyclist enemy lurks during day and night, isn’t about the dog running behind us, neither the bike thief (even though is really close) or a flat tire in the middle of nowhere, we refer to dangerous and lethal dooring.
Do you know What dooring is? Have you ever heard about it? Maybe you’ve heard or even you’ve been prey of it and you don’t know. Today’s ride we will tell you about a bad practice that puts the life of cyclists at risk.
What dooring is?
The word comes from the English door and means puerta in Spanish, it doesn’t have a precise translation. But I bet you can have a small idea of what dooring is, right?
Right, dooring refers to the action driver or passenger of a car performs when opening the door without watching out before do it so, and causing the impact of a cyclist against it.
This occurs when the person opens the car door a millisecond before cyclist passes by, or even at the right moment when cyclist pass by next to it. It is also important to mention that not only who transport by bike are prey in this practice. Of course, cyclists are particularly vulnerable, as motorcyclists, skaters and other motorists are part of this category, that are surprised before unseen situation and can’t do so much to avoid impact.
Dooring Dangers
Result obvious the greatest danger of this situation is the impact against door, without considering the most probable discussion between victim and aggressor. Even though it seems a carelessly situation, only the people we’ve been victims of this phenomenon know we can see our whole life flash before our eyes, when this happens.
And believe us, we are not exaggerating. For example, in New York City between 1996 and 2005, the door opening without caution caused the death of 7 cyclists, representing the 3% of the 225 people that perished in those years by road accidents. On the other side of the world, dooring caused the death of 3 people in London in 2010 and 2012.
In 2003, this practice meant the 11,9% of all the severe injuries in cyclists registered in Toronto, while in Victoria and Australia, the percentage was 8% between 2006 and 2010. Even some experts detail injuries caused by impact when opening a door as the least severe, it doesn’t mean these aren’t dangerous.
Possible Injuries to Suffer
The most obvious injuries are the severe ones, as fractures and shocks.
Some of them can be lethal or permanent for cyclist, if the cyclist doesn’t wear the correct protection equipment, as safety helmet, knee and elbow pads.
Nevertheless, these aren’t the only injuries that can be suffered. Believe it or not, the psychological damage is also present.
Although many people would believe this is an exaggeration, is true that any hit means a trauma and depending on the person can be the intensity of it in your mind. A strong shock against a car door can result in a durable psychological impact.
Among all these consequences, exists the one where cyclists can experience anxiety while riding. And some of them could consider stop the bike usage as a mean of transport.
Now, in lethal cases, isn’t the hit against the door what ends the life of a cyclist, but in the worst case, the door opening or the avoidance of it can cause being run over by vehicle transit next to cyclist; sometimes this may result in cyclist death.
How to Avoid Dooring?
Not everyone has the superhero reflexes to avoid a door opening and don’t lose the balance. That’s why there are some other recommendations we can improve…
As cyclists:
- Be careful and don’t go so fast when riding to the right, next to a line of parked vehicles. If possible, remember you can take the lane for your safety and safety of others.
- Cyclist can take the lane, and return to bike lane when possible.
- Remember to use the bike ways.
- Never ride on the opposite way of the lane.
- Don’t forget the standards you must comply and respect as cyclist.
- If you’re going to pass by next to a car parked in double line, reduce your speed and maintain a significant distance from the door. We don’t know if this will be opened or not.
- And last one, always wear your safety equipment.
As Driver or Passenger of a Car:
- Before opening a door, make sure a cyclist doesn’t come and open the door softly and slowly. This also helps motorcyclists and skaters.
- Be careful with the blind spot of your rear-view mirrors.
- Don’t park in double line.
- Never open the door suddenly.
Remember before you, cyclists and pedestrians have the preference. Now you already know about the dooring, maybe you wonder, “if impact against a door, should driver provide a compensation?” Well, you might surprise that sometimes you will be the one to pay the damages to vehicle’s owner. Here, we will tell you all the details you must know if you hit against an open car door.
