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Here's What Getting Doored Looks Like From A Cyclist's Perspective
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 12, 2014
Modified Sep 12, 2014
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By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 12, 2014
Modified Sep 12, 2014
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Crashing into a suddenly open car door is one of the biggest dangers to cyclists; every vehicle you pass is a potential IED that could pop off at any moment, with the potential to send you fatally tumbling into oncoming traffic. One Manhattan cyclist with a helmet camera recently captured a visceral look at what it's like to get doored, as well as the aftermath. Skip ahead to the 30 second mark:
Watch the entire clip and you'll be treated to a classic New York City tableaux, as an assertive and opinionated Greek chorus quickly forms to argue over who was at fault. The cyclist blames the cabbie for stopping next to the bike lane, the cabbie insists he warned his fare about the oncoming cyclist, the fare insists she didn't hear the cabbie and bursts into tears, and an assortment of random experts converge on the scene to offer advice and pass judgment.
Our favorite chorus member is probably the Man with Chips who goes on a brief rant about social media before taking the tearful young lady who doored the cyclist under his wing, promising "We're not gonna let him [the cab driver] yell at you no more." #HERO. #CHIPS
But who's going to pay for the damaged door?! We reached out to the man who uploaded the video to YouTube, and we'll update as soon as more information becomes available.
In the meantime, here's some advice for cyclists on how to avoid getting doored. Most experts agree that your best bet is take it slow and always ride four feet away from parked cars, even taking a lane if necessary. (The cyclist in the video above explains that this is why he doesn't ride in bike lanes.)
A Transportation Research Board study reported by Streetsblog in July suggests that bike lanes are much safer when there is a buffer on the parking side of the bike lane: "On one Chicago street, for example, few bicyclists rode outside the door zone when the bike lane had no buffer, then after a two-foot buffer was striped, 40 percent rode outside the door zone."
In 2012, the NYC DOT launched a safety campaign to prevent dooring, producing a video PSA to play on taxi TVs warning passengers to look before opening their doors. The department also released 26,000 stickers for the taxi fleet urging everyone to be aware. Apparently, some people still haven't gotten the message.
Here's another video that uses crash test dummies to illustrate the potentially fatal consequences of getting doored:
Dooring is still only a $150 violation and not a crime.
Tagged
biking
cyclists
nyc
taxis
original
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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