Look before you open your door

[westbankkid]

http://www.castanet.net/edition/news-st ... htm#144167

The lady struck by the idiot who didn't look before opening his car door has died. PLEASE< PLEASE< PLEASE, take a second to look for oncoming traffic before you open your car door....
This was a completely preventable death.

[jason500]

Does anyone know if she was wearing a helmet? Not that it matters, as the driver should have been more aware of his surroundings before opening his door, I am just curious.

[Captain Awesome]

Yes, she was wearing a helmet.

[kgcayenne]

Don't begrudge cyclists for taking the lane on a road where there are parked cars, cyclists need to stay out of the door-swing zone because of people who do not shoulder check before opening their doors. In this town, passengers need to also be aware due to the number of people using sidewalks, and it's the sidewalk riders who are most often without helmets.

[ifwisheswerehorses]

The article states that she was riding behind her friend. Her friend avoided or saw the door but this woman did not. So how close was she that her view was blocked?

[sherashera]

The lady struck by the idiot who didn't look before opening his car door has died. PLEASE< PLEASE< PLEASE, take a second to look for oncoming traffic before you open your car door....
This was a completely preventable death.

Don't lay all the blame on the driver. Cyclists need to be aware of their surroundings as well.

[Smurf]

Cyclists are extremely vulnerable to many things on the road, it is up to them to look after themselves as much as it is for others to. I see way too many cyclists that act like they own the road and break laws continuously. I wish they had large licence plates and insurance so I could take pictures of them and send them to ICBC the same as reporting bad drivers. If they do something wrong and hold a drivers licence it should be affected the same as driving infractions.

This was a tragic accident that could have been prevented, but I am not sure either one was more at fault. I know the tendency is to blame the driver, but I believe the rider should have some responsibility to. Just my opinion.

[jimmy4321]

First off if the driver had looked before opening the door it wouldn't have happened, no matter how observant a cyclist is for these possibilities there's a point where you just can't react in time to at least minimize things.

If you can't find it in your heart to look out for others, maybe do it to save your own *bleep* - It could have been another vehicle truck, trailer, buss etc. to take the door and driver for whatever reason.

[the truth]

Don't begrudge cyclists for taking the lane on a road where there are parked cars, cyclists need to stay out of the door-swing zone because of people who do not shoulder check before opening their doors. In this town, passengers need to also be aware due to the number of people using sidewalks, and it's the sidewalk riders who are most often without helmets.

I ride my bike on Kelowna roads about 100 days a year, like you said and I agree 1000 percent cyclists need to stay out of the door swing zone-I live by that rule everytime I am out on my bike,if not I would be dead buy now, too many times to count
when out on a bike ride people never ever trust that the person in there car will do the right thing-EVER-

[Smurf]

Probably a good rule to live by.

How about never trust the person in a motor vehicle, on a bike, on a motorcycle, snowmobile, boat, walking or what ever to do the right thing. You have to be alert for things to happen at all times. I don't even try to count the number of stupid things I see every time I go out.

[the truth]

100% correct

[I Think]

Don't lay all the blame on the driver. Cyclists need to be aware of their surroundings as well.

People seem to have forgotten that back in the '80's (I think) a law was passed making the driver/passenger responsible for hitting a cyclist with an opening door.

[sherashera]

That law was passed in the States. Numerous times I've seen cyclists ride on sidewalks. How is that safe for anybody? As I've mentioned before, both drivers and cyclists need to look out for their surroundings. Not just for themselves but for the safety of others.

[I Think]

Shera

Opening vehicle door into traffic
A court will generally rule that a person who opens a vehicle door as a vehicle passes
is 100 per cent at fault for any resulting collision. (Motor Vehicle Act, Section 203)

Anderson v. Leung
In the 1988 British Columbia Court of Appeal case of Anderson v. Leung [1988]
BCWLD 747, a cyclist was riding along West Broadway when he collided with the
opened door of a parked car. The driver of the car was found to be 85 per cent at
fault for having opened her vehicle's door without regard for approaching traffic. The
cyclist was found to be 15 per cent at fault for not wearing a helmet.

There are more citations.