Imagine the surprise of the motorist at a collision I once
investigated. He parked at the side of the road, opened his door, and a
passing car tried to tear it off! It’s a good thing he didn’t step out
while he opened the door.
What went wrong here? The motorist didn’t look first, or didn’t see what
was overtaking him. He probably felt safe in the fact that he had
stopped close to the curb and was out of harm’s way.
In the case of a driver or front seat passenger, there is a mirror
present to help see if anything is overtaking the vehicle before you
open the door. A quick shoulder check is also a good preventative
measure to turn into a habit.
For back seat passengers the rear roof pillar and lack of a mirror can make this task almost impossible.
The Dutch Reach is the best solution for all vehicle occupants use. Open
the door with the hand that is on the opposite side of your body from
it. This forces your body to rotate toward the door and allows you to
look backward through the gap before the door
opens very far. If something is there, hopefully there is enough room
to avoid a crash.
Today’s highways are no longer designed so that traffic is always on the
left side of a parked vehicle. Be cautious of cycle lanes that may be
on the right side of parking areas.
Failing to look or see when you open your door poses a significant
threat to cyclists often referred to as dooring or being doored. They
must use the right hand edge of the roadway and are difficult to see
because of their size. The cyclist that slams into
an opening car door can be seriously injured.
Cycle lanes designed without a buffer do not eliminate the hazard.
Opening a door from the outside can be a problem as well. It is not
uncommon to see a driver walk up to their vehicle and open the door to
enter without giving any thought to overtaking traffic. Passing vehicles
may be forced to move to the left or stop in
order to avoid a collision.
Section 203 of the Motor Vehicle Act forbids opening the door of a motor
vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless and until it is
reasonably safe to do so. Once a door on that side is open, it must not
be left open for longer than is required
to load or unload passengers.
Story URL: https://www.drivesmartbc.ca/collisions/it-safe-open-your-door
Constable Tim Schewe (Retired)
DriveSmartBC: Where better than average road users satisfy their curiosity.
