If you haven’t heard the word door used as a verb, you may not be a cyclist. Cyclists run into this issue consistently and need to be wary. If you’re thinking of getting into riding on the street, you’ll be much safer if you know what it means to get doored and how you may avoid it
Essentially, getting doored is what happens when a person in a parked car opens the door into the street at the same time that a cyclist is riding past the vehicle. The cyclist slams into the now-open car door, which wasn’t an obstacle just a few seconds ago. Cyclists can suffer severe injuries, and some accidents have even been fatal.
Can cyclists avoid the accident?
Cyclists need to be aware of the risks and keep their distance when possible, but they can’t always avoid getting doored. There may be no warning, for one thing. For another, if the cyclist swerved to the left to try to avoid the door, they would just be riding their bike into traffic. That could be even more dangerous.
Why do people do this?
The main reason why people door cyclists is because they don’t see them. Someone may park their car, spend a few minutes on their phone, and then decide to hop out of the vehicle. But they don’t take another look at the mirror to see the bike coming up behind them. They just swing the door open, and they are as surprised by the collision as the cyclist.
Even if the driver of the car is surprised, though, this is still negligent behavior. Cyclists who get injured may be able to seek financial compensation.
