Anti-Dooring System Proposed

http://dooringalertsystems.com/

There is a new anti-dooring system proposed by inventors that is incorporated into a vehicle's technology.

Do you think that this dooring alert system, if it would be adopted in the future by the auto industry, would be effective in reducing doorings?

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Permalink Reply by Joe Guzzardo on February 12, 2016 at 3:44pm

I like it! 

Frankly, I'd be willing to pay a nominal fee for a bike license to ensure the sort of safety this product is touting. It won't be that far into the future when self-driving cars are equipped with this feature anyway.

I like the idea of a transponder affixed to a bike that gives these self driving cars better awareness of bike traffic nearby and I'm ok with the CPD issuing a citation to anyone riding a bike on any road in the city who doesn't have such a transponder when they become more commonly used.

Once such technology becomes ubiquitous, along with recorded history, the frequency of bicycling incidents on our roadways will drop like a rock. This, in turn, will encourage more people to get on their bikes and ride them in the city.

In 10 years, this will be a reality. I'm hoping we can do it sooner.

Permalink Reply by mike w. on February 12, 2016 at 4:28pm

i like your reality.... Let's live there.

Really? How would that sort of ordinance EVER be enforceable?  How do you expect the average rider would keep such a transponder in working condition when a large percentage of them can't even change a tyre or even keep it properly inflated? There are thousands of bicycles in use in this city every day, how would anyone manage such a mandated system? They(the municipality) cannot even manage a reasonable bicycle licensing programme.

So,okay, let's give the insurance companies one more excuse to weasel out of liability claims, and have one more remove of motorists' responsibilities. 

Permalink Reply by Joe Guzzardo on February 12, 2016 at 6:42pm

It might not be enforceable, but my life is priceless. If I could paint my own picture 10 or less years down the road, it would include a transponder, just like I wear a helmet and use a mirror and lights, today. Why is that so inconceivable? 

Consider also how hungry our city is for revenue. I have no problems with improving safety at a nominal cost. And if even a few cyclist use a transponder, everyone in the vicinity has a little more margin of safety as well.

Permalink Reply by mike w. on February 13, 2016 at 2:39am

You may call me a Luddite, but i believe that we have sacrificed personal responsibility on the altar of technology, E.G. self-driving cars. The more the automobile becomes an automaton, the less becomes human involvement and thereby liability for one's actions or inactions. What we're left with is a generation of sleepwalkers, something i fear we are well on our way to creating. How will that make us safer?

Look at the news stories and reports and how they've been worded for decades:"a CAR struck the cyclist; the ACCIDENT killed four; that CAR ran into me." The (human) driver is already taken out of the equation in the mind of the public . Do we really want to fully remove the human element and absolve ourselves of any responsibility? i thought that we invented Satan for that.

Permalink Reply by Gort 12-mile Pinklegneep on February 19, 2016 at 2:38pm

well in the case of self-driving cars we've had coming up on a century to demonstrate that humans are not, and never were, responsible enough to safely operate an automobile. 

Frankly self-driving cars could only be an improvement because humans have proven can't drive.

Permalink Reply by Joe Guzzardo on February 13, 2016 at 4:49am

Now that I think about it, a transponder wouldn't even be necessary. Someone will develop a clever smart phone app to achieve the same result at less cost. 

Permalink Reply by Mike Keating on February 13, 2016 at 4:57am

Years ago, many small "fender bender" car collisions resulted in death because the steering column was essentially a straight rod that upon impact impaled the motorist in the chest and killed them. The motor vehicle industry (under pressure from trial lawyers who were pursuing product liability cases because the design was inherently dangerous) made the decision to change the design and the situation was fixed. 

That design wouldn't just benefit bicyclists but other vehicles, pedestrians, anything that was in harm's way. I would not be surprised to see vehicle manufacturers incorporate this technology if it is cost effective and has a functional safety component. Rear view cameras used to be "luxury" options, now they are pretty commonplace on a lot of cars. 

Permalink Reply by Paul Lazzaro on February 13, 2016 at 4:50am

I don't think the issue is primarily one of lack of technology, but more one of lack of skill/training/experience on the part of both drivers and cyclists.

Cars already have turn signals.  Often drivers don't use them, but even when they do, other road users often don't notice them.  I can't count the number of times I've seen drivers signaling a right turn being passed on the right by cyclists.  Cyclists already have the ability to signal turns (I do!), but most cyclists don't signal, and many drivers don't notice/understand or care when we do.

In short, the roadway is already full of things to watch, and we still have lots of collisions.

As for dooring, I always assume that every parked car is occupied and that the driver is about to fling the door open without looking.  So I ride outside the door zone, or, when the road surface or narrow roadway + fast car traffic does not allow this, I ride slowly enough that a collision with a door would be unlikely to knock me down.

I've seen several dooring incidents, and in each case I cringed as I saw the cyclist ride too fast/too close to car doors.  I've also had to coach friends and relatives, who are used to suburban mall parking lots, that they can't just toss the car door open without looking first.

Re. the idea of carrying a transponder to help self-driving cars move about the city more safely, count me in!  A self-driving car, vs. one driven by a human, could be depended upon to use the data it is given...

Permalink Reply by Tom A.K. on February 13, 2016 at 2:01pm
Basically, this is what this alert system does as the occupants prepare to exit. (Flashing lights). See attachment Gif below.

Would this lighted warning by the vehicle be helpful in alerting the cyclist in time to avoid a dooring? Obviously, first and foremost, we would hope that the occupants would LOOK before opening the door into traffic. So this technology would be augumenting the current awareness campaigns that we have.

Besides depending on the effectiveness of our vigilant awareness as we ride in the bike lanes, there is little else out there preventing/warning us from getting doored. We all have had close calls, even at slower speeds, no one wants even a minor injury. I feel any added contribution to safety is welcomed. Hopefully, the future for all cyclists' is brighter and safer!

There is no transponder involved in this system currently.
Attachments:
Permalink Reply by Thomas Bruzan on February 13, 2016 at 2:12pm

Why is it warning the cyclist? It should lock the god damned door.

Permalink Reply by Tom A.K. on February 13, 2016 at 8:01pm
Illinois Rules of the Road states,

"Drivers (and passengers) may open car doors on the side of a vehicle on which traffic is moving only when it can be done safely and without interfering with traffic. The door may remain open only long enough to load or unload passengers."
Permalink Reply by Mike Keating on February 19, 2016 at 10:11am

City of Chicago has a corresponding city ordinance. When a motorist "doors" a driver, this is what they are charged with on the traffic ticket. 

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