When cyclists and drivers share the road, it always poses a greater danger to the cyclist. Unfortunately, even when a car is not in motion, a driver can still potentially do damage to the cyclist in question.
This is particularly true in cases of dooring, which occur any time parked cars share close quarters with moving bicycles.
What is dooring?
We Love Cycling discusses the ways dooring can impact cyclists. Dooring happens when a driver or passenger in a parked car opens the door without checking to see if anyone is approaching on the bike lanes or sidewalks first. This results in a sudden and often unavoidable obstacle introduced into the path of the cyclist, who does not have time to react appropriately.
In some cases, a cyclist may hit the door directly, leading to bruises or broken bones. They may even launch over the top of the door, breaking the glass along the way. Cuts from glass and head injuries also occur often in these crashes.
The top risk for cyclists
But the most dangerous risk of all involves other moving vehicles. If a cyclist hits a car door with enough force or at the right angle, they might end up propelled into moving traffic. Or, in an attempt to swerve away from the door, they might end up cycling directly into traffic without even noticing.
Needless to say, the injuries obtained from moving vehicles can range from severe to even life-threatening. This is why dooring serves as such a massive problem, and why even one incident of dooring could potentially threaten a cyclist’s life.