Stop Getting "Doored," Promote Traffic Safety

A while back a friend of mine was “doored.”

While riding on his bicycle past a parked car, the driver opened the door without looking back or in the mirror for cars or bicycles first. Crash!!!  

I had not heard the phrase “getting doored” before. My friend badly damaged his hip in the crash and had to give up riding as a result.

The image of him on crutches remained in my mind when I opened my car door into traffic/bicycle lanes and I found myself more mindful that I could be the cause of the same injury to another rider.

But more often than I’d like to admit, in a rush to exit my driver side door, I would catch myself opening the door without first checking for a bicycle or car.

Then I got an idea about how to remind myself with a higher degree of compliance: a visual reminder strategically placed inside the car. I brought the idea to a meeting of Albany Strollers & Rollers (AS&R).  

We worked on the design and production. The image was designed on a vinyl cling that I have installed in the upper portion of my windshield near the oil change reminder. Because it is printed on a clear cling it can be seen and understood even when viewed in the reverse from the outside.

As a cling it can be easily placed and moved to wherever the driver feels it works best. Our goal at AS&R is to get these installed in cars everywhere to promote bicycle safety and safe driving.

Even if you think you are already aware and check for bikes when you drive, placing them in your car raises the awareness of passengers, who might then bring that awareness to their driving.

Kids in your cars will all be drivers someday and we hope to make this part of their driving modality like the Buckle Up program. Can you imagine kids these days not using a seatbelt when they are older?

It can work on preventing the Right Hook too. The Right Hook is when motorists, making a right turn without checking for bike on their right and/or failing to signal, turn into the path of a cyclist, causing a collision. So I have placed one on the right side of my windshield, too.  

To get some for you and your friends, check out our website dedicated to spreading the word: http://checkforbikes.org.

Any organization or business can adapt this design for their group to distribute. Our goal is to spread the word wherever there are people riding, driving and sharing the road.

If you are checking for bikes, you will check for people too. The rider you help save may be someone you know.

Safe Bicycling and Driving Safely!

[Editor's Note: This item was originally posted Feb. 23, but we are featuring it again this week due to last week's school vacation.]