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The Dooring: the Anatomy of a Bicycle Dooring Accident | Bicycle Advocate Richard Fries
When a motorist or passenger opens a car door directly into an oncoming cyclist's path, the resulting "dooring" collision can happen in seconds and cause severe injuries. In this video, New England Bicycle Advocate Richard Fries from Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers explains how dooring accidents occur, who is legally responsible, and essential strategies cyclists can use to spot hazards, avoid the door zone, and ride safely around parked vehicles.
Key TakeawaysKey Takeaway | Explanation |
Maintain Space Outside the "Door Zone" | Car doors typically extend roughly 3.5 feet outward into the street or bike lane. As a rule of thumb, if a cyclist can reach out and touch a parked car, they are riding inside the door zone and should shift outward to maintain a safe buffer when traffic allows. |
Scan 50 to 100 Feet Ahead | Rather than fixating on the pavement immediately in front of the front tire, cyclists should keep their eyes scanning 50 to 100 feet down the road. Looking ahead gives riders the necessary distance and reaction time to identify occupied vehicles and adjust course early. |
Look for Subtle Clues of Vehicle Activity | Parked cars should not be treated as stationary objects. Cyclists should scan for telltale signs of upcoming door openings, including silhouettes or movement inside the vehicle, adjustments in side mirrors, lit brake lights, and running exhaust. |
Stay Alert for Passenger-Side and Rideshare Drop-Offs | Dooring hazards are not restricted to the driver’s side. With the high frequency of rideshare pickups and drop-offs, passengers frequently open curb-side or traffic-side doors into bike lanes without checking for oncoming cyclists. |
Prioritize Controlled Braking Over Blind Swerving | In an emergency, swerving reflexively can push a cyclist directly into the path of moving motor vehicle traffic or pedestrians, which can cause an even worse crash. Defensive riders stay aware of surrounding lanes to choose controlled stopping whenever safe evasive room is absent. |
Drivers and Passengers Bear a Legal Duty to Look | Motorists generally have a legal obligation to ensure it is safe before opening a vehicle door or allowing passengers to do so. A driver who opens a door into an approaching cyclist's path—or permits a passenger to do so—can be held liable for the collision and resulting injuries. |
Read Full Video Transcript
Richard Fries:
Even with bike lanes, we still get a lot of incidents of dooring. This is when a motorist unexpectedly and recklessly opens a door into the path of an oncoming cyclist. In the next few minutes. We're going to teach you how to stay out of the door zone and how to stay safe.
First eyes forward. We want to be looking 50 to 100ft down that bike lane. Second, look for any signs of life. Look at those mirrors. Look for any occupant in a vehicle. Might be exhaust. It might be a brake light. Anything that indicates somebody in the vehicle, that indicates they're about to get out of that vehicle. Third, know the door zone. The door of a car is 3.5ft long. That's about half of your wingspan. So right there, if you can touch a car while you're riding down the bike lane, you're in the doors zone. Fourth. Always be prepared to take evasive action. And fifth. Respect the fact that the cars on the other lane in the travel lane could be opening their passenger side door. With the advent of rideshare, that's becoming increasingly common.
In most states, it is the responsibility of the driver to check for cyclists before opening a door and the liability rest with the driver of that vehicle, even if it is a passenger that opens that door. If you are involved in a dooring incident, make sure you contact the police. File a report. Document everything. Take pictures and contact a lawyer. At Geoffrey Glassman, injury lawyers. We understand bike law. We understand what you've been through. We've been there.
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