If I get doored whose fault is it, legally?

[zill]

We all know no one doors a cyclist on purpose (and often there just isn't enough room for a cyclist to stay at a good distance from a parked car) but just say if I did get doored and fall over, is the person opening the car door liable to pay for all the damages done to me and my bike? If so, how would I go about it to get him/her to pay if they don't want to pay?

[il padrone]

Yes.

Contact a lawyer or legal aid ofice for advice. You could send your own letter of demand (templates for this can be found), but a lawyer's letterhead and suitable phrasing often has better impact.

[find_bruce]

Bolton v Latham [2013] NSWDC 186 sets out the sort of matters that a court considers in deciding the extent of fault. Whilst most discussion online tends to see thing as all one persons fault or the other, many collisions are the result of negligence on the part of both parties - it is common for a court to find that one person was primarily responsible - say 80%, but the injured person's negligence contributed say 20%. So the injured person would only receive 80% of their damages.

In this particular case however the judge decided that the dooring was entirely the fault of the driver. Given that damages were agreed at $700,000, the cyclist would have been seriously injured. Perversely it can be much harder to recover damages for minor injury & damage to your bike

[human909]

If so, how would I go about it to get him/her to pay if they don't want to pay?

When somebody doesn't voluntarily pay you compensation or refer you to their insurer then you need to send them a "letter of demand" for the costs you have incurred. If they then don't respond then you need to start civil action, aka sue them. In some states you may have the option of a small claims tribunal.

You can send a letter of demand without seeking legal advice. You can go to the small claims without seeking legal advice. You can probably even sue them without seeking legal advice. But it all becomes more difficult...

[cp123]

and there is always enough room for a cyclist to avoid dooring. You just need to ride wider into the road.

[human909]

and there is always enough room for a cyclist to avoid dooring. You just need to ride wider into the road.

Hmmm.... That is easy to say, much harder to do. While I do agree with your comments they don't seem particularly helpful in answering the OP's question.

(I preach ride in the middle of the lane, ride outside of the door zone. However in practice a fair bit of my riding is in bike lanes inside the door zone. I do limit my speed though. Truck doors because of their height are potentially deadly even at lower speeds so I avoid them without fail.

At higher speeds I ride outside of bike lanes but often cop abuse for doing so. It is situations such as this that makes the presence of bike lanes worse for cyclists than having none.)

[il padrone]

In the typical scenario of a dooring, you'd be hard-pressed to find any reason to find a cyclist in any way responsible. The road rules are quite clear who is at fault - it is an illegal act to open a car door in the face of traffic. To apportion some blame to the cyclist I would guess they would have to find that they were in some way distracted enough to be negligent..... unlikely I'd expect, but maybe possible. But I'd expect most judges would see the driver's responsibilty to take safe action as primary.

[zill]

and there is always enough room for a cyclist to avoid dooring. You just need to ride wider into the road.

But I don't want to be beeped by the cars!

[ldrcycles]

and there is always enough room for a cyclist to avoid dooring. You just need to ride wider into the road.

But I don't want to be beeped by the cars!

When the choice is getting beeped by a car or getting run over by one, i know which i would pick. In reality i very rarely get anyone beeping at me for "riding big". If you ride in the lane where you belong rather than in the gutter, you will get more room from motorists. That is by far the best thing i learnt from this forum, though it doesn't make sense the first time you hear it.

[Boognoss]

and there is always enough room for a cyclist to avoid dooring. You just need to ride wider into the road.

But I don't want to be beeped by the cars!

When the choice is getting beeped by a car or getting run over by one, i know which i would pick. In reality i very rarely get anyone beeping at me for "riding big". If you ride in the lane where you belong rather than in the gutter, you will get more room from motorists. That is by far the best thing i learnt from this forum, though it doesn't make sense the first time you hear it.

+1

I know I have a lot of video footage of motorists being idiots but these account for a lot less than 1% of my time on the road. I've found that riding big is the best way for me.

[g-boaf]

and there is always enough room for a cyclist to avoid dooring. You just need to ride wider into the road.

But I don't want to be beeped by the cars!

You'll always get beeped by bogan motorists regardless of where and how you ride. Heck, even claiming the lane in preparation for making a right turn, you'll get some nutters come screaming up alongside you flat out just because they are **censored**.

You must always claim the lane though - don't hide in the gutter or near car doors. It's just a recipe for disaster.

It probably helps to have a great deal of aggression too - and be able to back it up with actions if need be. I know that sounds terrible, but good god, it's war out there.

[il padrone]

and there is always enough room for a cyclist to avoid dooring. You just need to ride wider into the road.

But I don't want to be beeped by the cars!

An unusual case of horn-blaring from Commute Orlando's videos. Mostly they just ride along and get drivers lane-changing calmly.

78882170


What sort of cycling is more disruptive? Which approach do you take?

23390727

[human909]

When the choice is getting beeped by a car or getting run over by one, i know which i would pick. In reality i very rarely get anyone beeping at me for "riding big".

I have been beeped, yelled at and swerved at when riding big next to big lanes. Which goes back to why some bike lanes are worse than useless.

Many bike lanes are wide enough that if you ride on the far left it will make you largely safe from doors. Others such as St Kilda Rd are quite narrow and you are at risk from doors and taxis the whole time you are in it.

[human909]

When the choice is getting beeped by a car or getting run over by one, i know which i would pick. In reality i very rarely get anyone beeping at me for "riding big".

I have been beeped, yelled at and swerved at when riding big next to big lanes. Which goes back to why some bike lanes are worse than useless.

Many bike lanes are wide enough that if you ride on the far left it will make you largely safe from doors. Others such as St Kilda Rd are quite narrow and you are at risk from doors and taxis the whole time you are in it.

[zill]

When the choice is getting beeped by a car or getting run over by one, i know which i would pick. In reality i very rarely get anyone beeping at me for "riding big".

I have been beeped, yelled at and swerved at when riding big next to big lanes. Which goes back to why some bike lanes are worse than useless.

Many bike lanes are wide enough that if you ride on the far left it will make you largely safe from doors. Others such as St Kilda Rd are quite narrow and you are at risk from doors and taxis the whole time you are in it.

Wouldn't riding big disrupt traffic? Also there is a possibility of being smashed by a car?

[human909]

Ahh we have a fresh one here!

Wouldn't riding big disrupt traffic? Also there is a possibility of being smashed by a car?

Have you just recently got into cycling? One of the basic ways of staying safe on the road is been seen and claiming your space. Riding "big" as some people like to call it, not riding in the gutter, taking a lane is normally recommended.

A possibility of being smashed by a car? That is the point of riding in the middle of the lane it makes you visible and forces cars to actively change lanes. Oh and cyclists are traffic. Cars disrupt traffic far more than cyclists.

[ldrcycles]

Exactly what he said, this is one of the most important things society needs to get it's head around, cyclists do not disrupt traffic, they ARE traffic.

[bigfriendlyvegan]

Let's turn this around - if I'm driving my car along a street and someone opens a door into the street and I hit their door, who is to blame?

[mikesbytes]

Let's turn this around - if I'm driving my car along a street and someone opens a door into the street and I hit their door, who is to blame?

I witnessed this happen about 6 months and you should of heard the noise and seen the damage to both cars. Sure as hell wouldn't want to hit a door on my bike

[London Boy]

Let's turn this around - if I'm driving my car along a street and someone opens a door into the street and I hit their door, who is to blame?

I witnessed this happen about 6 months and you should of heard the noise and seen the damage to both cars. Sure as hell wouldn't want to hit a door on my bike

It's painful, I can tell you that much.

[Summernight]

Let's turn this around - if I'm driving my car along a street and someone opens a door into the street and I hit their door, who is to blame?

I witnessed this happen about 6 months and you should of heard the noise and seen the damage to both cars. Sure as hell wouldn't want to hit a door on my bike

It's painful, I can tell you that much.

Even at slow speeds (less than 15kph) it isn't pleasant.

As for driving a car and hitting a car door that has been swung into your path, it is the door opener who is at fault still.

From Vic Road Rules s269(3):

(3) A person must not cause a hazard to any person or
vehicle by opening a door of a vehicle, leaving a
door of a vehicle open, or getting off, or out of, a
vehicle.

[bigfriendlyvegan]

So, now that we've got that clear, what's the difference between that and opening a door into the path of a bike?

[ldrcycles]

So, now that we've got that clear, what's the difference between that and opening a door into the path of a bike?

No difference, a bicycle is a vehicle under the road rules.

[find_bruce]

So, now that we've got that clear, what's the difference between that and opening a door into the path of a bike?

I'll take "rhetorical questions" for $50 please

[Sweeper59]

Our local Council has provided a shared parking & cycling lane on a major road in Port Macquarie. The lane is too narrow to safely open a car door when cars are passing in the adjacent travel lane, let alone provide enough width for a cyclist to pass safely. I have written to the Council a number of times stating they are putting cyclists lives at risk with this set up. I have also sent them links to news stories about people hurt and killed in 'dooring' incidents. I hope a cyclist is never injured on this section of road - but if it ever happens, Council would have share at least some of the blame.