D Horst's Page

"Best piece of writing I saw today!  Totally did a Loony Tunes with face and hands on the rear window."

"Ha!  I don't crash very often, but I avoid quite a few.  I commute year round and have been riding for over two decades.  Lots of opportunity for shenanigans. "

"And if only all cabs had sliding doors.... "

"I would like to see car doors swing open 175 deg on impact. Just like on a jeep wrangler."

"1.  Stay in the left 1/3 of the bike lane whenever there are cars parked on the right.  This may annoy the guy behind you, but honestly, you're slowing him down for less than 30 seconds. 2.  Look through the car.  Look…"

"GO SLOW IN THE DOOR ZONE 1. It increases you odds of being able to stop before you hit the door, avoiding the accident entirely 2. If you do hit the door, slower speed = less force on impact. Force of impact is the SQUARE of your velocity. Impact…"

"I just don't ride fast if I have to ride close enough to a row of cars. If I can't clear the door safely within a foot or two without running into  traffic slow is the key word.  "

"Exactly. If you stay fully aware of your surroundings (what's ahead as well as what's approaching from behind) and adjust your speed and position as needed, you can almost always  avoid doorings (as in my rough statistics above).If a…"

"I agree. As I've said elsewhere, my target will be the arm that opened that door, and if I break it, then I've shared the pain and dissipated a fair bit of the force with that impact. I'd rather be splayed across the hood of the…"

"the interior of the car doors should have some reflective element (like the outline of the door).  i noticed how hard it was for me to see open car doors when it was raining at night.  it didn't tell help that my route was poorly lit.…"

"This discussion is reinforcing my initial thought, which was to brake hard and steer into the car. (Better the devil you know- stationary object- than the devil you don't- potentially lethal traffic in the travel lane.) Not having any physics…"

"In general I'll agree with what you and Lowe have said, but with one change. Instead of hitting the door head on, turn the wheel somewhat parallel with the door so that you have a glancing initial impact that leaves you sliding along…"

"Having been doored a few times over the years, I've found that there is no universal answer for all situations.  The closest I could come is this.1.  If at all possible to ride completely out of the door zone, DO IT! 2.  If…"

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"I agree with what Lowe said. My personal opinion would be to take the hit into the door/(hopefully)exiting driver. I feel that you'll stand a much better chance of surviving a direct impact with an open car door than you would a glancing blow…"