Door Prize Avoidance

[joe]

A "door prize" isn't as special as it sounds - it's when the door of a parked car opens right in front of you.

Have you won a door prize? How do you try to avoid them?

[Doug]

Once, I've earned a "door prize". I was on Queen St. There was little room between the traffic and the parked cars. I try to give parked vehicles the customary bert of three feet but maybe I should give it a metre instead of a yard. That little bit more would have made the difference, as my pedal caught the door. The pedal was dented right in to the center. I fell but had only minor scrapes. Do you know that the lady who doored me actually was angry at ME! She said something about having a bad day and this topped it off. I told her that she was now passing on her bad day to me.

At the time, I didn't know the law. I didn't know that it was worth two demerit points and a hundred dollar fine plus any damages I could claim if I was injured (no-fault insurance in Ontario means that we can't sue, we just settle with insurance companies).

[John Spragge]

Situational awareness. I keep an eye about three car-lengths ahead, looking for recently parked cars, cars with drivers or passengers, or taxis. So far (touch wood), I haven't collided with a door, though I've had some close calls.

[Doug]

Hi John,

I agree about being aware of one's surroundings but I find that being doored is a split-second situation. People push their doors open just at the wrong moment and if we're within range there's not much we can do. There's no time to turn away. I find that the most effective method for drivers or passengers of vehicles to reduce dooring accidents is to CRACK, THEN LOOK BACK. Crack the door open enough to look. This allows oncoming traffic to be aware of your intentions instead of just pushing the door open, with minimum reaction time available to them. Also, it forces you to look back the split second before you open wide. Often, people who door have indeed looked back but allowed a few seconds to elapse before opening up instead of checking the split second before opening all the way. I do this method when I drive or am a passenger and it works extremely well. I surprise myself. And, since the law puts the responsiblity on the one opening the door, I encourage everyone to try this method. CRACK, THEN LOOK BACK!

You're speaking of dooring from the viewpoint of the one being doored (It can be someone in another car, not just a bicycle) and you're right about situational awareness. It saves lives.

Cheers!
Doug