Originally Posted by
sauerwald
Could only happen if you are passing a car on the right - good way to get a right hook too. Don't pass on the right.
There is a big difference between passing a moving car on the right and passing a stationery car on the right. I agree that passing a moving car on the right is usually a mistake, although not always - if they are signaling a left turn and clearly about to turn left for example. Passing stopped vehicles on the right is another matter and I do it all the time. Getting doored from the passenger side is a rare event since people generally don't get out of cars unless they are pulled over to the right side of the road, in which case a bike wouldn't be passing them on the right. While it is probably a good idea to stay out of the door zone when passing stopped cars on the right the chances of being doored are much, much lower passing a stopped car on the right than on the left. So the risk benefit trade off is much better passing on the right in the door zone than on the left in the door zone.