YOUR OPINION: Bicyclist was doored Western/Clybourn

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Permalink Reply by Chucko on June 22, 2009 at 3:59pm

Illinois law I believe requires that bicycles on public roads are to ride as far to the right as practicable. So the bicyclist was riding where they were supposed to ride. Enough said, honestly. As a cyclist, if I'm required to ride in that space, I'm not going to wait if that space is open, just because that would technically be "passing on the right". Cab wasn't supposed to let the passenger out that far from the curb, enough said.

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Permalink Reply by A.I. Kay on June 22, 2009 at 4:48pm

I had a similar dooring experience on Diversey near Clark. Got a nice gash on the side of my face below my helmet. I felt like the cab driver was responsible - while he was in traffic and street parking made it impracticable for pulling over, he allowed the passenger to exit into traffic instead of finding a suitable place to drop off his fare.

I also thought the passenger may have borne some responsibility because exiting the taxi in a safe manner on the curbside is one of the obligations of riding in a taxi.

In this instance, I did file a report because I was given contact information for the passenger I suspected was bogus (it was). I was basically okay, if a little bruised and bloody, but I figured that since the severity of cheekbone/sinus area injuries aren't always readily apparent, I ought to at least cover my bases. The police took about an hour to arrive, did not ticket anyone, and verbally warned both the driver and passenger of the cab.

After the police left, the cab driver asked if I like beer and gave me 20 bucks.

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Permalink Reply by heather s on June 22, 2009 at 4:57pm

Sometimes, doing what's legal -even required- is not necessarily what is safe. You can't keep to the right in all circumstances-- what if a car on your left is making a right turn? What if a bus is going to pull over? I'm not going to judge this scenario, because it's hard to know without having been there (and regardless of the specifics, it's the driver's and passenger's responsibility), but I generally try to cut around to the left side of a stopped cab or a car that is pulling right.

Chucko said:

Illinois law I believe requires that bicycles on public roads are to ride as far to the right as practicable. So the bicyclist was riding where they were supposed to ride. Enough said, honestly. As a cyclist, if I'm required to ride in that space, I'm not going to wait if that space is open, just because that would technically be "passing on the right". Cab wasn't supposed to let the passenger out that far from the curb, enough said.

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Permalink Reply by Chucko on June 22, 2009 at 5:06pm

Good point, Heather. Too much else could have been going on. And I don't think the rules/laws say you can't ever go into the lane, just that you shouldn't for no reason. I'm pretty sure the language is something like "practicable". I totally pass busses on the left, because in that case it's not "practicable" to ride all the way to the right.

But mainly I just mean that if there is space between parked cars on the side of the road, and cars in the lane, I'm not going to stop just because traffic does. If people in cars want me to stop when they have to stop, then I expect to be given full rights to the lane- something I know a lot of auto drivers get angry about.

heather stratton said:

Sometimes, doing what's legal -even required- is not necessarily what is safe. You can't keep to the right in all circumstances-- what if a car on your left is making a right turn? What if a bus is going to pull over? I'm not going to judge this scenario, because it's hard to know without having been there (and regardless of the specifics, it's the driver's and passenger's responsibility), but I generally try to cut around to the left side of a stopped cab or a car that is pulling right.

Chucko said:

Illinois law I believe requires that bicycles on public roads are to ride as far to the right as practicable. So the bicyclist was riding where they were supposed to ride. Enough said, honestly. As a cyclist, if I'm required to ride in that space, I'm not going to wait if that space is open, just because that would technically be "passing on the right". Cab wasn't supposed to let the passenger out that far from the curb, enough said.

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Permalink Reply by Michael J Blane on June 22, 2009 at 5:37pm

I'm glad no one was (seriously) hurt.

There's a difference between, being in your lane and going faster than the vehicle in the lane to your left, AND passing on the right (where you would travel out of lane toward the right to pass). I seem to remember from the "Illinois Rules of the Road" that you never pass on the right.

When I go between parked cars and the cars waiting for the light to change, I go very slowly and look in the cars, traffic and parked, (especially taxis) for people opening doors.

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