Cyclist dies after hitting car door

On 2007-04-14, Martin (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

http://tinyurl.com/2ujdxk

My condolences to his family and friends.

Don't ride close to parked cars, even if you can't see anyone inside.
Some time ago I very nearly hit a car door that was swung open by
someone lying across the front seats - there was no head visible through
the car windows.

There is the remotest chance something positive could come from this.

The guy may have been riding along in a car door lane. The coroner
might just be useful enough to find that car door lanes are a really
stupid idea, and recommend for their immediate removal from all roads.

I won't hold my breath.

--
TimC
"Saving four times is just paranoia. Unless you're using an Exabyte
5gig/8mm tapedrive." -- Graham Reed

"TimC" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On 2007-04-14, Martin (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

http://tinyurl.com/2ujdxk

My condolences to his family and friends.

Don't ride close to parked cars, even if you can't see anyone inside.
Some time ago I very nearly hit a car door that was swung open by
someone lying across the front seats - there was no head visible through
the car windows.

There is the remotest chance something positive could come from this.

The guy may have been riding along in a car door lane. The coroner
might just be useful enough to find that car door lanes are a really
stupid idea, and recommend for their immediate removal from all roads.

I won't hold my breath.

--
TimC
"Saving four times is just paranoia. Unless you're using an Exabyte
5gig/8mm tapedrive." -- Graham Reed

It's quite sad. Without wishing to detract from this bad situation, on a
number of occasions I pass a driver who has opened his/her car door as I am
next to them. I normally say loudly "Please watch out!" All I ever get in
return is a string of obscenities. If these brave gallant drivers (I am also
a driver) got rid of the perception that cyclists (and in fact anyone else
on >their< road) are scum, then we'd all be better off.

The person who opened the car door without looking committed an offence
which resulted in death. I hope he gets a suitable slap on the wrist...

Henry M.

In aus.bicycle on Sat, 14 Apr 2007 17:35:34 +1000

hemyd said:

It's quite sad. Without wishing to detract from this bad situation, on a
number of occasions I pass a driver who has opened his/her car door as I am
next to them. I normally say loudly "Please watch out!" All I ever get in

The only time this happened to me I called "watch out" and got back
"sorry!"

Zebee

Zebee Johnstone said:

In aus.bicycle on Sat, 14 Apr 2007 17:35:34 +1000

hemyd said:

It's quite sad. Without wishing to detract from this bad situation, on a
number of occasions I pass a driver who has opened his/her car door as I am
next to them. I normally say loudly "Please watch out!" All I ever get in

The only time this happened to me I called "watch out" and got back
"sorry!"

That's good.

One time it happened to me (no bike lane), the two young guys in the
hot Torana behind me, who had hung back waiting for a chance to
overtake, abused the door opener and apologised to me on behalf of all
car drivers.

Amazing, but true.
--
Regards.
Richard.

Quoted message said:

One time it happened to me (no bike lane), the two young guys in the
hot Torana behind me, who had hung back waiting for a chance to
overtake, abused the door opener and apologised to me on behalf of all
car drivers.

Amazing, but true.
--
Regards.
Richard.

Are you sure they weren't high on something???
<g>

"Martin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

http://tinyurl.com/2ujdxk

My condolences to his family and friends.

Don't ride close to parked cars, even if you can't see anyone inside. Some
time ago I very nearly hit a car door that was swung open by someone lying
across the front seats - there was no head visible through the car
windows.

I nearly got cleaned up going home on Friday......was on the Singlespeed
mountain bike and was heading East on Elizabeth St in Richmond after
crossing over Hoddle St. I was in the bike lane and next thing I know a guy
doesn't just open a car door, he throws it open so hard that it goes to full
extension......I had stuff all time to react and so I swerved out and the
edge of the door clipped my handlebar and little finger on the LHS. As I
swerved I can recall saying "Fcuk ME!!" pretty loudly and once I recovered I
slowed down a bit and looked over my shoulder and the guy was basically
giving me an apologetic wave and mouthed "Sorry" - couldn't be arsed going
back to say anything (what would it achieve anyway?) and so I hope that he
got as much as a scare as I did and might check his mirror before opening
his door in the future.

Stay Safe.

Gags

Campag_nut said:

Quoted message said:

One time it happened to me (no bike lane), the two young guys in the
hot Torana behind me, who had hung back waiting for a chance to
overtake, abused the door opener and apologised to me on behalf of all
car drivers.

Amazing, but true.

Quoted message said:

Are you sure they weren't high on something???
<g>

They were lucid :-)

I was surprised, but happy.

--
Regards.
Richard.

Martin said:

tinyurl.com2ujdxkOpen ↗

My condolences to his family and friends.

Don't ride close to parked cars, even if you can't see anyone inside.
Some time ago I very nearly hit a car door that was swung open by
someone lying across the front seats - there was no head visible through
the car windows.

Martin

.

sincerest condolences from me and on behalf of those of WoJ too.

car doors are seriously lethal to riders, and often when not fatal cause horrific chest injuries. They can also be lethal to the very drivers who open them without thinking when taken out by a another vehicle, like a truck.

so this is an education thing that is seriously lacking in driver ed , even though the road rules are quite specific, this is way too common.

marked bike lanes exacerbate this lethal aspect of riding when we are compelled to use them. Copenhagen lanes might remove this but will not overcome the other bad aspects of removing adult riders from where they fare best , on the roadway as vehicular traffic.

all road users have to have their wits about them at all times.....

heads up, look ahead, never assume.

TimC said:

On 2007-04-14, Martin (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

http://tinyurl.com/2ujdxk

My condolences to his family and friends.

Don't ride close to parked cars, even if you can't see anyone inside.
Some time ago I very nearly hit a car door that was swung open by
someone lying across the front seats - there was no head visible through
the car windows.

There is the remotest chance something positive could come from this.

The guy may have been riding along in a car door lane. The coroner
might just be useful enough to find that car door lanes are a really
stupid idea, and recommend for their immediate removal from all roads.

I won't hold my breath.

The circumstances are pretty sketchy. The report makes it sound as
though he ran into an open door like it had been open for some time...
Or was it opened on him by someone who wasn't looking?

--
Bean

"I've got a bike
You can ride it if you like
It's got a basket
A bell that rings
And things to make it look good
I'd give it to you if I could
But I borrowed it" Pink Floyd

Remove "yourfinger" before replying

In article <[email hidden]>,

Bean Long said:

The report makes it sound as
though he ran into an open door like it had been open for some time.

That's probably just a result of the reporter being legally cautious.

--
Shane Stanley

rooman said:

marked bike lanes exacerbate this lethal aspect of riding when we are
compelled to use them. Copenhagen lanes might remove this but will not
overcome the other bad aspects of removing adult riders from where they
fare best , on the roadway as vehicular traffic.

Actually, Copenhagen-style lanes might *reduce* this, but they will not
*remove* it. Remember that cars can have passengers ...

--
My Usenet From: address now expires after two weeks. If you email me, and
the mail bounces, try changing the bit before the "@ to usenet".

On 2007-04-16, Shane Stanley (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Bean Long said:

The report makes it sound as
though he ran into an open door like it had been open for some time.

That's probably just a result of the reporter being legally cautious.

That's a very generous way of putting it.

--
TimC
Did you know that in German, Usenet bulletin boards are called
Gruppenareabrettecholistennetzs? - James "Kibo" Parry

On 2007-04-16, Stuart Lamble (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

rooman said:

marked bike lanes exacerbate this lethal aspect of riding when we are
compelled to use them. Copenhagen lanes might remove this but will not
overcome the other bad aspects of removing adult riders from where they
fare best , on the roadway as vehicular traffic.

Actually, Copenhagen-style lanes might *reduce* this, but they will not
*remove* it.

Actually, the Melbourne style Copenhagen lanes do factor that in by
having a separator.

Quoted message said:

Remember that cars can have passengers ...

Less than 1/5th of the time. Sad in't it -- an average of 1.2 last
time I looked.

--
TimC
DISCLAIMER: THIS DISCLAIMER IS NOT REQUIRED BY LEADER KIBO. THIS ARTICLE
DOES NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE OPINIONS OF LEADER KIBO. THIS ARTICLE
DOES NOT NECESSARILY DISAGREE WITH LEADER KIBO EITHER. HAVE A NICE DAY!

TimC said:

On 2007-04-16, Shane Stanley (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Bean Long said:

The report makes it sound as
though he ran into an open door like it had been open for some time.

That's probably just a result of the reporter being legally cautious.

What... placing the blame entirely on the cyclist?

--
Bean

Remove "yourfinger" before replying

In article <[email hidden]>,

Bean Long said:

What... placing the blame entirely on the cyclist?

No -- carefully avoiding accusing someone without evidence. The fact
that it doesn't say the motorist opened the door *as* the cyclist was
passing doesn't imply he or she did or didn't -- it just means the
reporter is not making up things they don't know. In most circles, this
is considered a good thing.

More to the point, it doesn't make any difference how long the door was
open.

--
Shane Stanley

In article
<[email hidden]>,

TimC said:

That's a very generous way of putting it.

Not really. They're trained to consider the legal implications of what
they write. It's not like UseNet.

--
Shane Stanley

On Apr 16, 9:48 am, rooman <rooman.2p3...@no-

mx.forums.cyclingforums.com said:

car doors are seriously lethal to riders, and often when not fatal
cause horrific chest injuries. They can also be lethal to the very
drivers who open them without thinking when taken out by a another
vehicle, like a truck.

I've often thought about this....

I'm very wary of car doors, but I figure if I'm in a situation where
I'm going to hit, I'm steering INTO the car (and possibly soft door-
opener) rather than into that very sharp unforgiving edge.

duncan

Duncan said:

On Apr 16, 9:48 am, rooman <rooman.2p3...@no-

mx.forums.cyclingforums.com said:

car doors are seriously lethal to riders, and often when not fatal
cause horrific chest injuries. They can also be lethal to the very
drivers who open them without thinking when taken out by a another
vehicle, like a truck.

I've often thought about this....

I'm very wary of car doors, but I figure if I'm in a situation where
I'm going to hit, I'm steering INTO the car (and possibly soft door-
opener) rather than into that very sharp unforgiving edge.

You can always avoid being in that situation in the first place - stay
out of range.

A college was once doored by a passenger while
passing to the left of a line of cars waiting
at the lights. Some cars really do have them,
and sometimes they even get out - at the oddest
places.

Take care out there...