What Is “Dooring” And Why Is It Dangerous?

Now, even though it’s winter time, there are quite a few things that need to be taken into account and said about the safety of bicyclists. Unfortunately, of all the participants in the traffic, they and the pedestrians are known to be the most vulnerable. This is due to the fact that they don’t have protective roll bars and heavy machinery to keep them from the impact – their protective gear is the only thing which is going to provide some help. However, as you might suppose – it’s not something that could do much in a serious accident.

However, cycling is most definitely cool. It’s environmentally friendly and it’s better for your health. What is more, in the significantly increasing traffic jams in Toronto and other parts of Ontario, this could turn out to be the quickest form of transportation. However, cycling accidents are far from cool. An impact between a 600lb car and a 20lb bike doesn’t really have a lot in store for the latter.

The current trends

There is a new phenomenon of late which is rather interesting yet something that could cause a lot of damage. It’s called “dooring” and it’s rather straightforward. It is when a car driver opens his door while it is parked on the side of the road, without accounting for any of the incoming cycling traffic. The result is usually a collision between the cyclist and the door that’s being opened. They are particularly ridiculous, because they could be easily avoided. However, in terms of legal regulations, there are a lot of things that are yet to be discussed and clarified as the phenomenon, as we mentioned above, is likely to get even more common.

The law is ambiguous

The car driver is going to insist that he had parked safely on the side of the road, shut off the ignition and only opened the door when he determined it is particularly safe to do so. On the other hand, the cyclist is going to insist that he paid full attention to the driving conditions and that the driver opened the door out of the blue, without any warning what so ever. With this in mind, the police are going to be left with a wide leeway for interpretation, which is never beneficial for the law.

So, what could be done? As the current state of the legislation is – nothing per say. Unless witnesses are engaged or the policeman was present at the place of the accident, it’s impossible to determine any type of fault. It’s a matter of insurance, but even then the situation could get rather blurry as insurance policies do not always include such aspects. However, you can always hire a personal injury lawyer irrespective of whether you are the defendant or the victim. They will be able to clarify the liability and ensure that justice is not denied.