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The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored”

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Re: The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored”

#21

Post by Finnucane »

FullMtlAlcoholc wrote: post #15

Or, as a bike rider one can simply look into a cars cabin and see if a person is inside. I assume everyone is a terrible driver, have no idea I'm on the road. I am a regular bike commuter on traffic heavy Los Angeles. I'll never understand the mentality of bicyclists who are more concerned with asserting their rights as opposed to exercising caution and restraint. Graveyards are full of people who had the right of wa…

Checking all the cars as you ride is rather distracting, and a lot of cars have tinted windows. Practically speaking, you can't reliably look into all the cars and pay attention to everything else going on. Personally, I try to stay as far to the outside of the door zone as traffic allows.

Re: The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored”

#22

Post by dpark »

FullMtlAlcoholc wrote: post #15

Or, as a bike rider one can simply look into a cars cabin and see if a person is inside. I assume everyone is a terrible driver, have no idea I'm on the road. I am a regular bike commuter on traffic heavy Los Angeles. I'll never understand the mentality of bicyclists who are more concerned with asserting their rights as opposed to exercising caution and restraint. Graveyards are full of people who had the right of wa…

I have little confidence in my ability as a biker to recognize which of the dozens of cars I bike past might h person in them. The car could appear empty because the driver is bent over picking something off the floor. Or their head might be blocked by the headrest. Or I might just not notice them.

More to the point, what am I supposed to do if I see a car with someone in it? Slam on my brakes, assuming they will door me, and get hit by the cyclist behind me instead? Turn my 30 minute ride into an hour because I'm constantly stopping randomly?

I totally agree that simply assuming that because you have the right of way that you will get it is a terrible idea. But I don't think pushing the burden onto the cyclist is the fix either. We should be reducing the requirement for constant human vigilance because humans suck at being vigilant.

Re: The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored”

#23

Post by matt4077 »

I wonder if the car couldn't be more helpful.

For example, a lit rear indicator light (not blinking) would be a signal that I could check for without much cognitive effort, and it wouldn't be too confusing for the rest of the traffic. Just having it turn on when car was turned off but the doors haven't been opened should cover most situation.

Re: The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored”

#24

Post by diamondo25 »

As a Dutch person, this is probably the cause of our parents always telling us to carefully open the door by looking first. And if you are not sure, open it a bit to see more. Also, in our license test, you'll have to learn the following rule: Getting out of the car, is just like turning the car, a special operation and you need to give everyone else priority so that your action will not cause problems. So take your time, be patient and be cautious.

Re: The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored”

#25

Post by dpark »

Anechoic wrote: post #12

I was doing something similar to this over the summer when I sprained some ligaments in my left hand so it was painful to open the door using the "usual" left hand motion. The video seems to imply that reaching over your body to open the door with your right hand will naturally force your body to turn to see behind you (or to the side). This never happened in my experience, I can reach over and open the door with my…

They're already liable. That doesn't fix it, in the same way that speed limit laws don't stop speeding, and parking laws don't prevent illegal parking.

Re: The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored”

#26

Post by pimlottc »

paulsutter wrote: post #10

How do existing self-driving cars handle this case? Perhaps regulation could cover this if the manufacturers aren't. The cars should have sensors to know it's not safe to open the door. Getting rid of parked cars will be a good start. EDIT: obviously the car can sound a warning or even briefly prevent the door from opening. Similar case, what if a car or truck is passing by very closely at that moment.

How does the car being self-driving change anything? They don't open the doors for you.

Re: The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored”

#27

Post by [deleted] »

paulsutter wrote: post #10

How do existing self-driving cars handle this case? Perhaps regulation could cover this if the manufacturers aren't. The cars should have sensors to know it's not safe to open the door. Getting rid of parked cars will be a good start. EDIT: obviously the car can sound a warning or even briefly prevent the door from opening. Similar case, what if a car or truck is passing by very closely at that moment.

[deleted]

Re: The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored”

#28

Post by justinator »

nathancahill wrote: post #6

Getting doored is honestly terrifying (I don't say that lightly). I bike and longboard frequently, and I'll avoid bike lanes if they are alongside parked cars. And this is in Boulder, one of the most bike friendly cities in the US: http://www.bicycling.com/culture/advocacy/2014-top-50-bike-f...

Also in Boulder, also a time I have to be hyper aware. I find the bike infrastructure in this city slightly... uneven. Sometimes, it's great, sometimes it's not very well planned out. I live off of 36 in N Boulder. It can be downright dangerous using the bike lane.

Re: The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored”

#29

Post by pooper »

msandford wrote: post #19
FullMtlAlcoholc wrote: post #15

Or, as a bike rider one can simply look into a cars cabin and see if a person is inside. I assume everyone is a terrible driver, have no idea I'm on the road. I am a regular bike commuter on traffic heavy Los Angeles. I'll never understand the mentality of bicyclists who are more concerned with asserting their rights as opposed to exercising caution and restraint. Graveyards are full of people who had the right of wa…

Cyclists are already second class citizens on the roads. People who ride bikes are upset about this and would prefer not to become third or fourth class. It's also very frustrating to have to assume everyone is so ignorant that they wouldn't mind accidentally killing you for the sake of saving a second or two. I completely agree that being aggressively paranoid is the way to stay alive. But agreeing that it is the sm…

> Cyclists are already second class citizens on the roads. People who ride bikes are upset about this and would prefer not to become third or fourth class. It's also very frustrating to have to assume everyone is so ignorant that they wouldn't mind accidentally killing you for the sake of saving a second or two.

I'll bite. Any cyclist who rides on the sidewalk, runs a red light, or flaunts traffic convention in general absolutely deserves to be treated as a second class citizen. Your wheels don't belong on the sidewalk. I'm sorry if I sound rude.

Re: The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored”

#30

Post by jcomis »

nathancahill wrote: post #6

Getting doored is honestly terrifying (I don't say that lightly). I bike and longboard frequently, and I'll avoid bike lanes if they are alongside parked cars. And this is in Boulder, one of the most bike friendly cities in the US: http://www.bicycling.com/culture/advocacy/2014-top-50-bike-f...

Try Denver. Downtown has several main routes of terrifying bike lanes on the left side. No one looks left/back when they are taking a left turn, even when theres a full car sized lane with reflective dividers (they also frequently forego blinkers, but thats another issue). The worst is the people pulling into parking garages mid block.
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