Landmark Forum graduate Kim Nishimoto was recently featured in The Chicago Tribune for her efforts to bring attention to the most common kind of car-bicycle accident – dooring, where a door of a parked car is opened in front of an oncoming bicycle. Nishimoto’s son Clinton Miceli was killed in a dooring accident in 2008, and she is working to have the Illinois Department of Transportation include dooring in its accident statistics. Until it is included, traffic safety funding won’t go towards preventing these commonly occurring accidents. Read the whole story from The Chicago Tribune.
Bringing Attention to ‘Dooring’ Bike Accidents
3 comments
This article was all too real for me. I was doored on my bike from a parked car as well, on my way to work in the San Francisco area. I remember seeing the door open and I was in between traffic and the parked cars and I had no time to do anything but close my eyes and let fate take me. I remember flying through the air and landing in front of an oncomingg car that had to slam on it’s brakes. I had a knee injury and my bike was destroyed, but I walked away. One second later and that car would have hit me. This reminds me of that brush with death and how lucky I am.
I’m a bicycle commuter in Seattle. I’ve been doored twice. I was lucky both times, the worst injury so far has been a bruise the size of half a softball on my rear end. The police were not involved in either of these incidents, but I wonder if there is a law in the traffic code for this? If the police are going to write traffic tickets for dooring a bicyclist, there has to be a charge in the traffic code for that. To my knowledge, there isn’t. If a driver pulls a car out of a parking space and hits a passing vehicle, (or bicycle), there’s a charge for that. As the article points out, if a driver doors somebody the car is parked, so it’s not a moving violation.
I am a bike messenger in ca and was doored while at work.The hospital bills have become quit large and I suffer upper and lower back pain daily even after the physical therapy. I have had too sue the person who open the door do to the fact that my work dose not insure it’s riders,and the driver of the car did not look before he opened his door,making him responsible.This has happened to many messengers and cyclist I no and is a serious problem.drivers should be held liable in any state for it is there responsibility . I also can relate to this article and suggest strongly anyone involved in this type of accident seek legal advice a.s.a.p