"Car-doored" this afternoon

[Martin318is]

on the ride home from work - was expected home earlier than usual to baby sit and was running late so took the shorter major road way rather than the normal way. In traffic, I narrowly avoided a driver side door being opened. however.....

30 seconds later while passing cars that were in a turning lane, a passenger door opened right beside me and completely took me out. Took the point of the door in the front of my shoulder so hard it bent the hinge on their door - they couldn't close it afterwards. Nothing too bad though, shoulder is seizing up a little but nothing to write home about.

The family was hugely apologetic and the girl who opened the door was pretty much in shock. (me shouting "jesus christ" during the impact can't have helped her much) I didnt have any warning because apparently she had decided to get out that instant (there was no indication from the outside at all - she didnt even move) They did everything they could to look after me but when I saw their car was stuffed, I sent them on their way and made my own arrangements.

And now, the really important stuff:
Was riding my Orbea, Onix - afterwards I was able to put the front wheel beside the rest of the bike in the car ride home - while it was still in the dropouts... Didnt just snap the carbon, it bent and cracked the drop-outs. also broke the housing on an STI lever and bent the front wheel - a little bit - way less than you'd expect. shouldnt be too painful to get sorted out and the driver's insurance should cover it.

 

[Highlander]

Getting doored sucks. At least you don't appear to be badly injured from it. I've only been doored once about 12 years ago, but I did lose a finger in the process. It was similar in that the driver was opening the door and never bothered to look into the street and it took me out. My bike was also wrecked, but it was a cheap department store one that I used to commute to school, so it wasn't a huge loss.

 

[hmsgenoa]

Sounds like you were lucky! It happened to me in 97, a woman dropping kids at playschool flung open her car door while I was right next to it, doing around 40kmh. It was a two door car, so although I was about a metre from it, and tried to react, the bike tipped out, then back in as I tried to avoid it. The top corner went straight through my cheek - I was lucky not to lose teeth or an eye. Was in oral surgery for eight hours getting stitched & soldered back up (blood vessels being cauterised - funny seeing wisps of smoke going up from your face while under local anaesthetic!). All in all had over forty stitches. Like I said you have had a lucky escape, and I did too really.

 

[Ninety5rpm]

DON'T RIDE IN DOOR ZONES.
STAY AT LEAST FIVE FEET FROM PARKED/STOPPED CARS.

No exceptions!

(yes, it is possible - bicyclists who think of themselves as drivers do it consistently in every city around the world)

 

[will10]

You have my sympathy but I can only agree with the above. Learning to drive you are told to leave a car door's width when overtaking cars, no excuses for not doing the same on a bike I'm afraid. Hope you're alright.

 

[Polyarmour]

You have my sympathy but I can only agree with the above. Learning to drive you are told to leave a car door's width when overtaking cars, no excuses for not doing the same on a bike I'm afraid. Hope you're alright.

Yes it's a nice theory but not always possible. If you have angry traffic on one side and parked cars on the other side often I find myself drifting into the car door zone and crossing my fingers.

 

[mr. tibbs]

Yes it's a nice theory but not always possible. If you have angry traffic on one side and parked cars on the other side often I find myself drifting into the car door zone and crossing my fingers.

Guilty of this, as well. One good thing about being relatively strong is that I can often hop out into the stream of traffic for a period, completely claiming the center of the right lane. I'm assuming most posters on this forum can do the same.

It upsets people, even if you're travelling the same speed as the traffic and have several car lengths of space between you and the vehicle behind you, but it beats the car door lottery.

Ironically, I have more car door problems in residential areas, because the speed of traffic tends to be managed better with the lights and traffic of an urban area.

Blahblah now tibbs is just rambling. Good luck with the repairs, Martin. Ride safely, all.

 

[datalore]

DON'T RIDE IN DOOR ZONES.
STAY AT LEAST FIVE FEET FROM PARKED/STOPPED CARS.

No exceptions!

(yes, it is possible - bicyclists who think of themselves as drivers do it consistently in every city around the world)

+1. I ride through a school zone on my daily commute. It's a wide street, and parents are usually too busy with their kids to look before opening the car door. If I didn't keep out of door zones, I would hit a door at least once per week. If the street isn't wide enough for you to stay out of door zones, take the lane and choose a different street next time, or ride slow enough that you aren't in any danger if someone opens a door. Assuming that you are properly dressed, the angry traffic to your left is much more likely to see you and avoid you than the person opening their car door to your right. I understand that in some cases, the cause of an accident is completely beyond the control of the cyclist, but this isn't one of those cases.

 

[Granville57]

Personally, I've found Chicago to be one of the best cities to ride in.
Cars and bikes merge together and everyone seems to "get it" in ways you just don't find in the northeast, U.S.
I attribute that to the fact that the midwest is simply much more laid-back than what you'll find in Boston or New York.

Granted, like all cities, tragic events do occur...

But this is making news:

Illinois to start tracking bicycle 'dooring' collisions

The city of Chicago has been tracking dooring accidents for the last three years. A city law carries fines up to $500 for opening a vehicle door in the path of a cyclist. The ordinance also requires drivers to stay at least 3 feet away from bicyclists; prohibits left or right turns in front of cyclists; and bans driving, standing or parking in a bicycle lane.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-bike-dooring-accidents-0425-20110424,0,2629398.story

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

on the ride home from work - was expected home earlier than usual to baby sit and was running late so took the shorter major road way rather than the normal way. In traffic, I narrowly avoided a driver side door being opened. however.....

30 seconds later while passing cars that were in a turning lane, a passenger door opened right beside me and completely took me out. Took the point of the door in the front of my shoulder so hard it bent the hinge on their door - they couldn't close it afterwards. Nothing too bad though, shoulder is seizing up a little but nothing to write home about.

The family was hugely apologetic and the girl who opened the door was pretty much in shock. (me shouting "jesus christ" during the impact can't have helped her much) I didnt have any warning because apparently she had decided to get out that instant (there was no indication from the outside at all - she didnt even move) They did everything they could to look after me but when I saw their car was stuffed, I sent them on their way and made my own arrangements.

And now, the really important stuff:
Was riding my Orbea, Onix - afterwards I was able to put the front wheel beside the rest of the bike in the car ride home - while it was still in the dropouts... Didnt just snap the carbon, it bent and cracked the drop-outs. also broke the housing on an STI lever and bent the front wheel - a little bit - way less than you'd expect. shouldnt be too painful to get sorted out and the driver's insurance should cover it.

Sorry man, to everyone all around.

 

[JA.Tri]

Yes it's a nice theory but not always possible. If you have angry traffic on one side and parked cars on the other side often I find myself drifting into the car door zone and crossing my fingers.

Unfortunately I fall into the same boat. Try to give room but...

I am finding a small minority of cars are amazingly aggressive...with a recent significant increase in minimal clearance on being overtaken/threats/road rage/abuse.

 

[Marva32]

Personally, I've found Chicago to be one of the best cities to ride in.
Cars and bikes merge together and everyone seems to "get it" in ways you just don't find in the northeast, U.S.
I attribute that to the fact that the midwest is simply much more laid-back than what you'll find in Boston or New York.

Granted, like all cities, tragic events do occur...

But this is making news:

Illinois to start tracking bicycle 'dooring' collisions

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-bike-dooring-accidents-0425-20110424,0,2629398.story

Not only that, but Chicago also asks for people to send in videos or photographs of offenses (usually more major ones), might be a great reason to get one of those helmet mounted digital cameras to record my rides.

 

[Marva32]

on the ride home from work - was expected home earlier than usual to baby sit and was running late so took the shorter major road way rather than the normal way. In traffic, I narrowly avoided a driver side door being opened. however.....

30 seconds later while passing cars that were in a turning lane, a passenger door opened right beside me and completely took me out. Took the point of the door in the front of my shoulder so hard it bent the hinge on their door - they couldn't close it afterwards. Nothing too bad though, shoulder is seizing up a little but nothing to write home about.

The family was hugely apologetic and the girl who opened the door was pretty much in shock. (me shouting "jesus christ" during the impact can't have helped her much) I didnt have any warning because apparently she had decided to get out that instant (there was no indication from the outside at all - she didnt even move) They did everything they could to look after me but when I saw their car was stuffed, I sent them on their way and made my own arrangements.

And now, the really important stuff:
Was riding my Orbea, Onix - afterwards I was able to put the front wheel beside the rest of the bike in the car ride home - while it was still in the dropouts... Didnt just snap the carbon, it bent and cracked the drop-outs. also broke the housing on an STI lever and bent the front wheel - a little bit - way less than you'd expect. shouldnt be too painful to get sorted out and the driver's insurance should cover it.

Hope you are doing okay. 25 years ago, I was riding and some lady doored me. My helmet shattered her door window as I went flying, but my headtube and downtube were toast, the rear part of the front wheel wound up above my bottom bracket. I was lucky, only wound up with a bruised shoulder.

 

[Martin318is]

DON'T RIDE IN DOOR ZONES.
STAY AT LEAST FIVE FEET FROM PARKED/STOPPED CARS.

No exceptions!

(yes, it is possible - bicyclists who think of themselves as drivers do it consistently in every city around the world)

Ninety5rpm,
Wow, you've taken yet another opportunity to roll out your pamphlets on defensive riding. Gee, thanks.

In other news, water is wet.

 

[Martin318is]

DON'T RIDE IN DOOR ZONES.
STAY AT LEAST FIVE FEET FROM PARKED/STOPPED CARS.

I have publicly said already that the accident itself was not my fault but that the fact it happened at all WAS my fault. I'm fully aware of that. It is generally my policy to not ride on major arteries at all on a Friday night exactly because it is the most dangerous time to be out there. I made a judgement call on risk vs efficiency and I lost the bet.

For the record: I was on the passenger side of the vehicle and it was out in normal traffic, not the side of the road. I had done head checks of every occupant of each car as I approached and none were in motion. I was also only filtering to the front of the queue of cars (as cyclists are asked to do in Melbourne) rather than 'overtaking' at speed. I was nearly a metre away from the passenger side when the door was flung open at the exact moment I was passing with the point catching my shoulder.

 

[MD FACG FACP]

Been there. A white Toyota p/u, I landed in the middle of the street. Got lucky no cars were coming on a typically busy street. It's a tough choice do you risk riding in traffic so you give clearance to car doors or the other way around ? I guess it depends on the width of the street.

 

[delbified]

sad to hear about that Martin. i refuse to ride in the door zone, no matter who is inconvenienced behind me - i'd rather get hit from behind than ride into a door at speed. but when filtering past stationary traffic, it is sometimes necessary. i try to keep a lid on my speed, but any collision with a door edge is going to hurt.

 

[Martin318is]

For those who are interested, the magic of Garmin GPS lets me announce that at the moment of impact I was travelling at 18.6kph.

 

[Francois the Postman]

For those who are interested, the magic of Garmin GPS lets me announce that at the moment of impact I was travelling at 18.6kph.

No heart-rate?

 

[Ninety5rpm]

Yes it's a nice theory but not always possible. If you have angry traffic on one side and parked cars on the other side often I find myself drifting into the car door zone and crossing my fingers.

If you're between "angry traffic" and parked cars with insufficient space to continue outside of the door zone, you're simply positioned poorly - you should be out in the traffic lane.

In order to avoid having to hear maybe a honk or two you're willing to risk injury and possibly even death by riding in the door zone? Suit yourself, but don't say it's not always possible to avoid the door zone. Of course it is, and I know people all over the U.S. who do it in any city you can think of.

Go to this link to find an LCI who will teach you how to avoid door zones in your area:
http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/education/course_schedule.php

 

[Hugh Januss]

For those who are interested, the magic of Garmin GPS lets me announce that at the moment of impact I was travelling at 18.6kph.

Good lord man that is like 11.5 mph, were you riding a tricycle?

 

[Martin318is]

Good lord man that is like 11.5 mph, were you riding a tricycle?

Here's a thought for you though, if I was travelling so slowly, how much mass must I have to write off my frame/fork AND the door of the car in the impact?

Contrary to the implications of Ninety5rpm's posts, I was slowing on approach to a red light and concentrating on observing the ocupants of the cars I was about to pass. the crash wasn't because I was travelling too fast to avoid the door, it was because I was already at the door when it was thrown open.

 

[flicker]

Unfortunate, I in the same situation yesterday, saw a woman opening door straight into traffic, I luckier, jumped on sidewalk...probably same speed...

 

[Martin318is]

No heart-rate?

It was 138 and spikes by 10 beats at the moment that speed drops to zero. then it drops back to about 100 while I was busy pulling bits off the road and discussing insurance details etc.

 

[Hugh Januss]

Here's a thought for you though, if I was travelling so slowly, how much mass must I have to write off my frame/fork AND the door of the car in the impact?

Approximately 10% of the mass of a real 318is ?