Sigh. I don't have an English source for this, but just yesterday a 31 year old guy got killed in a dooring "accident" in Helsinki. He was riding on a narrow residential street when a driver in a parked car opened door at the worst possible moment. Cyclist hit the door, was flung to his forward and left, straight in the front panel of an oncoming bus and then under the bus. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Apparently he was so occupied with navigating between the oncoming bus and parked cars, he never realised the risk of being doored. Worst possible timing. And the parked car driver broke the law, no question about that. Not that it matters much.

Reactions are, well, tasteless. Local newspaper pointed out he had a helmet, but remembered to acknowledge it didn't help much. Comments include such as "Darwin claimed his own", "don't blame the car driver, he will have to live with this for the rest of his life" as well as wild speculation about cyclist's speed ("they all ride recklessly and too fast") etc.

Local cyclists had a memorial ride yesterday evening to the site of the accident, sadly I could not attend.

--J