Dooring video

Dashcam video from a car dramatically shows what happens when somebody opens a door into a cyclist. The cyclist just narrowly avoided becoming road pizza when the driver swerved to avoid hitting him (or her?)

Via Keri @ Commute Orlando. The video she uses was removed from YouTube because it violates YouTube’s “policy on shocking and disgusting content.” There’s no blood but it is disturbing to watch, so beware.


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I don’t know where this was recorded. Every U.S. state prohibits opening a car door directly in the path of traffic, but doorings are still a common occurrence. Earlier this week, I watched somebody open a car door directly in the path of a moving city bus — the bus driver stopped short to just avoid demolishing the car door by that much.

Defensive cycing means watching out for the mistakes the other idiots out there make. As the above video demonstrates, a hit cyclist is often thrown into adjacent traffic. To reduce the risk of getting run over, move out of the “door zone” and further into the traffic lane. This may seem counter-intuitive, but experience and statistics testify to the safety of moving left into the lane.

8 Comments

  1. Wow – that shows how quickly it can happen. Top marks for the driver with the camera in their car – looks like they missed the cyclist. Hopefully.

    I’ve never been doored, but I experience close calls usually about once or twice a year. And it’s usually when I’m riding along with a bunch of drivers behind me getting all impatient, while I’m just starting to think that I should pull a bit closer to the parked cars to let them pass.

  2. Yeah, seriously quick reaction from the driver, but if there’s a dash cam, chances are this is a well trained professional driver–cop, cabbie or delivery driver. Lucky for the cyclist that’s who was following, but as we all know, many of the people operating heavy machinery out on the road have no business doing so.

    This video should be shown to every city planner who thinks it’s OK that their bike lanes put cyclists directly in the door zone.

  3. shame on youtube for censoring this it’s a very teachable moment and should be part of any bike class as it shows the risk of the door zone

  4. I call that a hattrick. The person in the parked car is the obvious idiot. But the person riding in the door zone isn’t using their head either. If I was driving by someone riding in the DZ, I’d stay as far away as possible because as this video shows, they could have easily killed the cyclist even though they otherwise appear to be driving safely and in the lane.

  5. Heaps of cyclelanes are drawn through the outside of car stalls.  ie rider essentially compelled to ride there.

  6. It is amazing how much car centric people will fight to make things unsafe for youth cycling to school.  They seem clueless about dooring, and a recent city safety committee composed of non cycling councilmen turned a blind eye.
    I got fed up with it.    PLEASE HELP!

    Please help this you tube go viral to send a strong message to City and school board of Mountain View.      Email Council would help too.   

    Please view YouTube “MVHS Truman” or  ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvK2BlLTIMM ) which is a collection of every dooriing scene on the web inter-spaced with youth at Mountain View High school riding the red sea double door zones.  This is going to full council sometime soon.  So spread this youtube around the country please!!

    The music is over the top, but it does elicit a deep emotional kick on the rapid succession of scenes. 

    Background
    1 year ago city of Mountain View
    allowed an “experiment” over strong objections of cyclists, to allow
    street parking along the school side of Truman at Mountain View High where ther used to be none.  This is being pushed by the school board.  . The reason given is
    the marching band members had difficulties carrying their instruments
    from the parking lot to the band room. Now all the students biking
    in a hurry to class no longer a safe route to school and all of them
    have learned as a matter of expediency follow the most dangerous route
    possible. We ask you write, MVHS, parents, and Mountain View City
    Council.

    Please view YouTube MVHS Truman ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvK2BlLTIMM ). This is a very powerful video. Make Truman Safe Again!

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