Eugene S. Huckleberry — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Not exactly a story of being doored, but here goes..

I was riding with a friend through philadelphia, May 2001. Going down walnut we came to a stoplight a block west of rittenhouse sqaure. she was on the sidewalk, i was on the street, riding the median between parked cars and traffic, which was stopped at a light. as i neared the intersection and came up to the first car waiting, mis-judged the distance bewteen the driver's side mirror and the passenger side mirror of a parked car. the handlebars locked against the mirrors and sent me flying with the bike coming down on top of me, like a windmill, 180 degrees. it was a tangled mess, my friend laughed, the expression on the face of the driver was actually quite humorous in hindsight, but they rolled down their window (they couldn't open their door as the heap of twisted metal that was my bike was in the way) and asked if i was okay, as did some people who just happend to be walking by. as it was completely my fault, there wasn't much i could do about it, and paid for a new front wheel to replace the one i had tacoed. i was pretty embarassed by the whole thing and still kind of am, but you live, you learn. usually when i ride on the streets now i'll keep an eye on parked cars three or four lenghts up, looking to see a silhouette in the rear windshield and be able to anticipate an opening door or exiting vehicle.

Walter Lutz — Los Angeles, California

To Live and Ride in Los Angeles

I was heading East in the Bike Lane (of all places) on Sunset Blvd. one sunny Sunday afternoon when I got doored by an SUV. I am usually aware of opening doors of cars that have just parked and usually can expect the driver to swing open the door without the slightest glance into the side mirror. In this case, there was this couple that had been sitting in their vehicle for a while and due to the tinted windows I couldn't see that they were there. Well, the driver decided it was time to get out and as he was talking to his passenger, swung open his big SUV door just as I was passing. My front tire made impact with the edge of his door, sending me flying into the next lane. Luckily, there weren't any cars coming at the time and I just got scraped and bruised.

The guy apologized profusely, and was nice enough to take me, my bike and my ruined front wheel across town to a high-end bike shop, where he paid for a new rim ($125) and gave me a ride home. In parting, I told him, "I'm not glad ran into you, but I'm glad it was you that I ran into."

It was hard to get back on the road for a while. It was hard to relax and not expect every single parked car door to suddenly open as I passed. I'm back to my old riding self again, though I ride much farther to the left than ever, 'taking the lane' and staying clear of the Door Zone.

Ricky Ross— Los Angeles, California

It was Nov of 96, San Francisco...

I was on my way to rehearsal at Planet X studios on Folsom st (no longer there). I was on Valencia and made a right onto 16th, 5 seconds after I made that right a car door opened and wrenched the handlebars right out from under me. I went flying and landed with my legs and feet in the street.

A car came and ran over my right foot and part of my lower leg, I watched it happen from street level; it ripped my sneaker right off.

Talk about instant pain; it felt as if my leg had been dipped in boiling oil, the pain seemed to stick to my leg like hot wax. This all happened in front of a bar right next to alleyway called Randal. A bunch of Mexican guys came out from the bar and picked me up off the street and placed me on the sidewalk. Someone got a milk crate to elevate my leg; and they talked to me to make sure I didn't go into shock or have some bad trip from the accident.

In the ambulance I called the band to tell 'em I wasn't gonna make it to practice that night. No broken bones, just major tendon/ligament and soft tissue damage. The doc said it would have been much easier if I just broke the bones, they could fuse 'em together and voila...new bones, but it takes much longer and it's much more complicated with tendon/ligament injuries.

The person who ran me over made it seem like it was my fault and she got away with it. Her insurance company said there was no way they were gonna pay; we would have to go to court and since I did not have a light on my bike, forget about it, I was gonna lose. I did get some dough from the person who doored me; he was a pretty decent guy about the whole thing, he called me later on that night to see how I was doing and to apologize.

I learned a lot from that accident; always use a light at night, always keep your eye on parked cars and always assume that every door will open into you and that people don't see you and don't care.

Anonymous Craigslist post, San Francisco

The following is an anonymous response to a posting I made yesterday on Craigslist (SF, Politics discussion forum) regarding the danger Car Doors pose to Cyclists. Thank goodness the majority of car drivers don't think the same way this "Liberal" does. —Jerry


RE:Car Door Politics

car door deathtrap
Reply to: see below
Date: 2005-03-15, 5:45PM PST


i dig bikes, they don't burn gasoline and they are quiet

but

here in SF
bike riders don't follow the rules of traffic game...jumping lights, changing lanes or turning
without signalling...yadayada

so
here's my warning...if you are not following the rules of the road and you
get in my way...
boom...
if you are riding and I am opening my car door
boom

bike riders beware
even liberals have had enough

follow the rules of the road
or
consider yourself fair game...

Anonymous, Oxford Brookes University, England

Getting Doored...

Had my first and only experience of being doored today.
When I first moved to Oxford I thought it was a really bike friendly town,
and yes, it has more cyclists and cycle lanes than most UK town, but that
doesn't save us from the almighty door attack!

I was riding up St Clements up towards Headington hill on the green cycle
lane, the traffic was at a stand still waiting for the light to change.
All of a sudden someone opened their car door right in front of me. I
could almost see it open in slow motion. I think my front wheel hit the
door, and I tumbled over the bike and onto the pavement. Luckily I ended
up on the pavement with a bruised leg and slightly mangled knee. The two
guys in the car were super apologetic, and offered to drive me home or to
A&E but I didn't think it was necessary. ( I should have got someone's number,
because i now have to repair my bike!)

Apart from hobbling round for the next few days I'm fine, but I recognise I've got away lucky as hell. It's amazing when you talk to people, even people who don't cycle, how many of them either know someone, or know someone who knows someone who's been harmed or killed by getting doored.
This really needs to be be more universally acknowledged as a serious issue.

-- Anonymous Cyclist from Oxford Brookes University, England

Darren Rosebrugh, Newton, MA USA

I am one of those who would like to ride a bike instead of drive to work, but fear the inhospitable atmosphere that exists for cyclist (especially in the burbs). I just wanted to applaud Toronto's use of stickers on the rear passenger windows that warn Taxi passengers to look for cyclists before opening the door. I have yet to see this simple, but effective use of warning stickers on other cabs in other cities. Since others here have lamented the taxi as a number one culprit in dooring incidents I would encourage you to concentrate your efforts on getting stickers into the rear door windows of taxis around the world.

--Darren Rosebrugh

Matthew Pickett, Cambridge, MA

Cambridge gives away or at least did give away stickers for side mirrors that remind the driver to look before opening their car door. You put em right on the mirror where the usual "objects in this mirror" text goes. It is a nice idea. My brother-in law Charlie had his good friend Dana run over and killed by an MBTA bus a few years ago. She clipped an opening door of an SUV and lost control of her bike and was run over by the bus. There was no way for the bus to have stopped in time. She was a brilliant and charming woman who apparently had even gone kayaking in Alaska on her own. Many of her friends and family feared for her survival on that trip (one of many adventures apparently). I didn't really know her...these are just some of the stories I heard at her wake. I ride all the time and have been doored twice and almost doored numerous times. Be careful out there, cut your bars narrow, make sure your brakes are adjusted properly, wear a helmut and watch for drivers sitting in parked cars. That will give you a little advance warning they may open their door unexpectedly. Watch out for cabs the most though, passengers get out all the time without looking. Even if a cab appears to be waiting at a light the passenger may pay there and get out. It has happened to me twice recently. I stopped in time but it was close. Be careful out there.

--Matthew Pickett

Paul, Dunun Liberation Front. Oakland, California

Jerry,

I saw your stickers and I wanted to find out if I could get some of them, I love the graphic and the idea. I did see a woman get doored once in berkeley, she was older and I think broke her hand or arm. Its no bullshit, doors are the number one hazard out there, that's why I will take the lane, fuck it if people honk.

-- Paul

Rob Grey, New York City, NY

Picture this....

Riding my bike on East 57th Street at 5th Avenue in NYC. Right in front of Tiffany & Co., the van driver for the aforementioned company hurled his door open. One of those extra large size Econoline van style driver doors. Me of the fast reaction swerved instantly, avoiding a headon, but taking the edge of the door on my right thigh. I went down like a rock and being on a road bike that at the moment of impact was traveling at 20 mph, I slid about twenty feet on the pavement. Immediately to my left, traveling on a parallel route, was the Crosstown bus. Its wheels were about a foot from my head. The Van driver was very young, inexperienced, and apologetic. The police came and gave him a summons for "unsafely opening a door into traffic". Tiffany paid about $2500 to make me whole again. I spent about 5 years avoiding my bike.

--Rob Grey

Barry Spencer, Berkeley, CA

The Dooring

I've cycled for 40 years, raced, never owned a car, rarely drive, yet have only been doored once. In 1994 or thereabouts I was heading North on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, having just crossed Ashby Avenue, when I ogled a woman walking on the sidewalk. A man opened his car door, I tried to swerve around it, but my ogling had cost me precious tenths of a second, and the door caught the end of my handlebar. I was pitched forward, and my foot got hooked onto the frame of my bicycle somehow, and while I flew through the air some torque was applied to my knee. This was painful, because I had dislocated that knee several times in the past, the latest time only about two years earlier, and the knee has some torn ligaments. Then I hit the asphalt. I couldn't get up and off the street because I was busy writhing in pain, but a police officer, along with the man who had doored me, helped me to the sidewalk. The lady police officer asked me questions about my health, which I could not answer because of the severe pain. But soon the pain subsided. I was not injured. The funny part was when the woman I had been ogling came along and stepped over me as she continued on her way. I thought it was funny, anyway. The man who doored me owned the restaurant he was parked in front of. He was apologetic and offered to buy me a new bike. I told him that was unnecessary. He may have worried I might sue him. He offered that I may have run into his car, as there was a scratch on the side of his car behind the driver side door. I just said, "Nah." This was wishful thinking on his part; he was casting about for some way he would not be responsible for the accident. The bicycle I was riding at the time was an old mountain bike with very wide handlebars. If the handlebars had been a more normal width I would have eluded the door. I went home and sawed about four inches off both ends of the handlebars. The bike had a very long wheelbase, too, which may have contributed to my failure to avoid the door. That particular block of Shattuck Avenue is dangerous for bicycles. It's busy, fast and narrow; there's not enough room to stay a safe distance from parked cars.

--Barry Spencer