How to minimize awfulness when doored

After Dustin Valenta's awful dooring and hit-and-run last week, I've been thinking about how to minimize injury when one is doored. I was lucky enough to come away from a dooring this winter with minor injuries because I swerved left and THANK GAWD there was no car in the lane behind me, but I could've very easily been hit by a car in the travel lane and sustained a really serious injury.

So when you see the door open and you don't have time to stop: what's the best thing to do? Should you brake hard and hope that you don't skid into something that will kill you? Steer into the open door?

I haven't found any great physics/medicine papers on this yet, and would appreciate the input.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin K on February 23, 2013 at 8:11am

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 of a 10mph crash has 4X the force of a 5mph crash
  • Impact of a 15mph crash has 9X the force of a 5mph crash
  • Impact of a 20mph crash has 16X the force of a 5mph crash

3. If you have time to stop or slow down, you're less likely to swerve to the left -- into traffic -- potentially getting run over by a car.  As bad as slamming into a door might be, getting run over by a car or truck would be worse.

Dustin's dooring does sound particularly brutal, thank god he's doing ok, all things considered.

Permalink Reply by J2O on February 23, 2013 at 5:24pm

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 through the back/side windows and in the mirrors for occupants.

3.  Don't trust the occupants.  Even if they seem to be holding the door closed for you, assume that they're going to mindlessly fling the door open moments before you pass.  Slow down and give them plenty of room to open the door.  As you pass, yell "thank you!".  Seriously.  It works.

4.  If they open the door, surge and unweight.  Stomp hard on the last bit of pedal you have, then lift up; pretend you and your bike are floating.  If you get lucky, the door with simply sweep you and your bike over a foot or two.  This has saved me on a few occasions and you look totally badass.

5.  If you do crash, go limp noodle.  It's probably going to hurt and be messy.  I got bumped by a car into the back of an SUV.  Totally did a Loony Tunes with face and hands on the rear window.  No injuries.  Which was good because the guy that bumped me took off, destroying several parked cars in the process.  The woman in the SUV was pretty traumatized, but I had her laughing by the time the cops showed-up.  Had I tightened-up, I would have likely driven my face into her back window with completely different results.

Permalink Reply by wig [ isaac ] on February 24, 2013 at 1:50am
I would like to see car doors swing open 175 deg on impact. Just like on a jeep wrangler.
Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on February 24, 2013 at 4:46am

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

wig [ isaac ] said:

I would like to see car doors swing open 175 deg on impact. Just like on a jeep wrangler.
Permalink Reply by J2O on February 24, 2013 at 7:52am

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.

h' 1.0 said:

I'm concerned about all the crashes you're having.  Are you on the bike all day, e.g. a messenger?

John Orleans said:

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 through the back/side windows and in the mirrors for occupants.

3.  Don't trust the occupants.  Even if they seem to be holding the door closed for you, assume that they're going to mindlessly fling the door open moments before you pass.  Slow down and give them plenty of room to open the door.  As you pass, yell "thank you!".  Seriously.  It works.

4.  If they open the door, surge and unweight.  Stomp hard on the last bit of pedal you have, then lift up; pretend you and your bike are floating.  If you get lucky, the door with simply sweep you and your bike over a foot or two.  This has saved me on a few occasions and you look totally badass.

5.  If you do crash, go limp noodle.  It's probably going to hurt and be messy.  I got bumped by a car into the back of an SUV.  Totally did a Loony Tunes with face and hands on the rear window.  No injuries.  Which was good because the guy that bumped me took off, destroying several parked cars in the process.  The woman in the SUV was pretty traumatized, but I had her laughing by the time the cops showed-up.  Had I tightened-up, I would have likely driven my face into her back window with completely different results.

Permalink Reply by Juan Primo on February 24, 2013 at 8:52am

Best piece of writing I saw today!

John Orleans said:

 Totally did a Loony Tunes with face and hands on the rear window.

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