Ford Invented Anti-Dooring Mirrors
 

I'm glad to see an auto manufacturer is finally exploring this technology.


Yes, the Dutch reach is free, but humans are notoriously unreliable. It is for this reason we have developed countless technologies devoted to compensating for human negligence and stupidity.

:thumb:

They also need to make sure blinkers are visible on mirrors, and on multiple locations around the car. Side of the front?

That might work well in tests of bicycle riders going 4 MPH. What about 11 or 13 or 18 MPH?

If you are moving at 18MPH, GET OT OF THE DOOR ZONE, yes, get out of the door zone... you must be seen by other traffic.

Even at lower speeds, you need to be seen by other traffic... but, I am fully aware that trying to "negotiate" for space, at a lower speed, can be an exercise in futility... no matter how "vehicular" you act, at lower speeds, you will not be treated that way.

Even a higher speeds, there is always some motorist that thinks only cars belong.

But at 18 MPH, you tend to be moving at a pace that blends in with other traffic.

Agree, 18 MPH is too fast for a DZBL. What then is an appropriate speed?

What triggers the warning lites? The driver beginning to pull on the door handle? That provides maybe less than a second of additional warning time? Are the warning lites on if a driver is in their seat it might be better?

There's a reason that Dutch (and most developed countries except the U.S.) no longer build Door Zone Bike Lanes. They are dangerous in numerous ways; drivers opening doors, drivers pulling out of their space without looking for bicycle riders, drivers pulling in to the bike lane so that they can parallel park, drivers crossing the bike lane to park and squeezing bicycle riders between parked cars and cars driven by inattentive drivers with nowhere to escape if a driver seers in to the DZBL.

It may not help in all situations, but its a step in the right direction.

If this technology actually prevents the door from being opened, it would be a welcome feature. The video shows the feature only on the left front door, though I hope that they apply detection and locking for all doors.

Sadly, a locking feature might be a liability, such that the system "detects" something and the driver is in a "must exit" situation... the only credible example I can think of is a car in water/flood.

Unfortunately Ontario, Canada also builds or paints Door-Zone bicycle lanes. I spent years teaching bicyclists to not ride in the door-zone and then the cities put in door-zone bicycling lanes. Idiots!

Cheers

It would have been easier to move the driverside interior door handle backwards a foot to where the arm is and install a label that says "Right hand to open".

That's because when you crunch it all together ... there really isn't any other practical place to put them! Used intelligently (what a concept) a DZBL need not be lethal. Millions of us are living proof. If you are doored it likely isn't because you were in a DZBL it is because you were doing one or more things that impaired your ability to stop in time to avoid a hazard. Fix that and you eliminate the need to throw expensive technology on a low occurrence situation.

What new car doesn't have these things? You and me both ride in the land of lax DOT enforcement of vehicle compliance, how much legacy iron do you see on your commutes? Besides, fancy blinkers are only beneficial if drivers use them. That could be a whole thread in itself ...

I couldn't get sound with that video so question - does it stop the door from opening further or just make a light show and trust the operator to do the right thing?

Ben

"Alerts the driver and prevents the door from being fully opened."

Some new cars don't have blinkers on the side mirrors. I suspect it's not just a few.

One talks about "Rainy Oregon", but cars last a reasonably long time here.

As a cyclist, I notice maybe < 10% of the vehicles with mirror turn signals, and it is not clear if it is a mandate. Very few, if any, seem to link the finder clearance lights to the turn signals. Many do have wrap-around lights, but even so, they are designed for signals to be seen in front and behind.

And, since the mirror lights are often hidden in one form or another, the only way to ascertain for sure whether they exist is to fully pass the vehicle, and look back and see if it is signalling (assuming you've missed the rear signals for one reason or another).
I believe that it said that it "Momentarily prevents the doors from being fully opened" (as well as internal beeps and flashes).

It still takes the driver to pay attention...the major problem today is drivers are distracted, these mirrors are not going to help most people.

Some years ago, a woman in town was riding her bike when she was doored by a driver who was laying across the passenger seat to get something, so he was invisible from outside, and then he KICKED HIS DOOR OPEN before sitting up. Yes, she was wearing a foam hat, but still received major head trauma. Forking cagers.

The absolute best way to avoid being doored is DON'T RIDE IN THE DOOR ZONE (caps for emphasis not shouting here). If a bike lane puts you in t he door zone then don't ride in that bike lane.

Cheers

Or faster than that.

Some cars, now have them on the front and rear quarter panels.

Sometimes using the bike lane under these circumstances is unavoidable. No choice but to be vigilant and not go 18 mph.. not much risk of that in my case unless downhill.:p

You ARE, in fact, shouting. I understand. You kind of have to when no one is paying attention to your impractical advice. I just got in from the morning commute and cruising in the DZBL (like 98.9% of them are) a parked car with its left wheels ON the right hand deliniation (doesn't get anymore DZ than that) suddenly opened the driverside door! Blasting towards a sure kill for the hapless driver I wasn't concerned much for myself. I was ready. That cager was dead meat. Or were they. Turns out that without even leaving the bike lane I slid by the half open door with room to spare. I mean, how many drivers open the door all the way? And if they did ... well there is the travel lane isn't there? It's not like there is a hard barrier keeping a bicycle on an inevitable collision path with a fully open car door.

I really have trouble believing that thousands of Civil Engineers in hundreds of American cities colluded to bring about the demise of commuter cyclists through attrition from dooring deaths. Use the DZBL when provided and call it good. I (and others) would much rather take chances with stationary cars with half open (or fully for that matter) driverside doors than mix it up with cars and trucks in motion at 20mph and more. So save your breath and stop shouting. Ride where directed by signage. It really is the better way.

In traffic I will not ride in the door zone even if it's a bicycle lane. Why? Because if someone opens a driver side door when I'm directly opposit them I'd be deflected into traffic or under some vehicle's wheels. It's simply not worth the risk to me.

Headrests on automobile seats and a driver of small staure can make it impossible to see that driver as you approach the vehicle. Add in tinted rear and side windows (not the driver's) and it's even harder to tell if someone is in the driver's seat. Or if the driver is leaning down and opens the door.

YMMV and apparently does but my advice is to simply avoid riding in the door zone.

Cheers

This. I was doored twice, many years ago. Both time I could not see that there was anybody in the car. One was at night, parked below a streetlight with no lights on in the car. The other was a woman looking for her kid's toy on the floor before opening the door. Both times I was tossed into the middle of the car lane. If you think about it, a car door is a device designed to toss objects weighing 100 to several hundred pounds away from the car at most of the speed that object was traveling prior to. THe car door doesn't kill you. The vehicle behind you just might. (There was a tread on this where the truck driver was driving illegally. The thread went on for pages before someone pointed out that his driving status had zero to do with this death. The best driver in the world would have been in the same boat unless he choose to stay well behind the cyclist until the road was clear of parked cars. In some cities, that doesn't happen and driving that slow would irritate many drivers.

Ben