In today’s podcast, Richard L. Duquette discusses the Door Zone Debate. Bicyclists are generally required to ride as far to the right as possible or practical or in a posted bike lane.
Two Sides
The conservative view is to ride as close the right as possible. That is the law and you should follow the law as closely as possible.
Others say to take the lane completely to the conflict of the law.
Resolve the Door Zone Debate
When riding in a door zone, realistically cyclists must know that motorists inattentively fling open car doors and often seriously injure cyclists.
A statute defining the zone would have added more protection for the cyclist. Instead the prevailing statute in California reads “no person shall open the door of a vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so and can be done without interfering with the movement of such traffic...”
It’s a Balancing Act
Many motorists don’t look when opening their doors and hit cyclists by either bumping them or causing the cyclist to t-bone their door.
This can lead to the cyclist being flung into traffic causing serious injuries. As a cyclist you must use your common sense when riding in a door zone.
To hear more about Door Zone Debate, download and listen to the entire episode.
If you are short on time, here are the highlights of Door Zone Debate:
Is there an actual defined door zone? (1:17)
What to do when riding in a door zone? (2:45)
Cyclists must use common sense (4:26)
What might the insurance company say? (4:52)
What is Richard’s suggestion? (5:50)
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