Helmet Head

Do you regularly ride in door zones?

(Please answer the poll and expand on your answer in a post, as desired).

discosaurus

I ride in door zones if I'm not moving fast. I have plenty of distance and reaction to stop if I need to, and I don't hold up auto traffic.

If I'm going too fast to see far enough ahead, or if traffic is too congested for me to jump into the center of the lane quickly, I take the full lane.

tehdely

The only time I ride in door zones is when I'm filtering up a line of cars veeeery slooooowly, to the point where an opening door wouldn't even cause me to fall down because I'd have enough time to react.

Otherwise, no. It's suicide.

billew

I voted other because sometimes there is no other place to ride, I live in a city that was laid out almost 400 years ago so even taking the lane is in the door zone.

Business810

I ride near or in the door zone when I'm filtering and sometimes in traffic, but only if I can see inside cars to see if there is anyone inside or going slowly enough to react. I avoid it when I can though. I ride there often enough that I voted regularly and never doored in that I do it almost every day, but it does make up a fairly small amount of my riding.

syn0n

Only when I don't have a choice. When I do, I watch door mirrors for any signs of movement so I can stop hard to avoid a collision. I still feel vulnerable regardless, especially if I'm on the BMX because I don't think most SUV or truck drivers could even see me in their mirrors, provided they actually checked.

ivegotabike

the door zone where i live is called the lane, so yes i ride in them

Bekologist

I ride with cars and traffic, some of it stopped. I ride uphill slower than downhill.

Roughstuff

I have to say 'other' Bekologist because on most rural roads it is not an issue. But whether I am in a car, or on a bike occasionally riding along a chain of parked cars, it is absolutely frightening.
Not only am I afraid that a door may fly open at any moment, but I am also afraid the children or dimwitted adults will pop out between the parked cars. If there is one thing that reading these forums has made clear to me, is how much of a threat parked cars are to cycling commuters.

roughstuff

ovoleg

I ride right next to the door.

Its called watching cars

I know its hard but people have to try

jyossarian

"Police raced to Queen and Leslie Sts. during the dinner hour Thursday, after a man was hit by a streetcar and then fell underneath the vehicle [a streetcar]. The victim was riding his bike at the time and swerved to avoid another driver, who had opened his car door as he was passing by."

BTW, he walked away w/ a few cuts and bruises.

Bekologist

roughstuff- I ride downtown and urban Seattle as a dedicated transportational bicyclist.

invisiblehand

Hah! Isn't that called gravity Bek?

Seriously, I answered no ... and I have never been doored. However, after reviewing other answers, it is the case that if traffic is at a virtual standstill and a small space is available for me to filter up a bike lane--often encroached upon in certain areas--I technically ride in the door zone at a slow pace.

Bekologist

invisible hand, riding uphill at a slow speed, for example on a loaded commuter bike, past parked cars while you do 6-7 MPH allows some egress into the door zone with very, VERY little risk.

invisiblehand

I understand Bek. I was not commenting on whether it is safe or not: I agree with you by the way. Mind you, I think you are doing fine without any comments from me.

I was just making a joke.

-G

StrangeWill

Same here, I'd have to ride center the lane to give 5 feet, it's a two laned narrow road at 35mph. So I try to stick as far right as possible (a foot from the car if even that), and am still worried about being clipped from my left. I figure if someone has opens a door in front of me, a car is going to take the door off first before I get to it.

If I have room, or it's not busy, I stay out away from the cars though.
I have good visibility on my bike, actually better than in my car by many times. I can understand maybe someone in a heavily tinted window or a little kid opening a door, but I can see people inbetween cars fine. However you have to be paying attention, and lots of people don't, car, bike, walking....

John E

Through downtown Encinitas, Coast Highway 101 is a 4-lane road with a posted 30mph / 50kph speed limit. Because of parallel parking on some blocks and diagonal parking on others, I take the center of the right lane, getting honked occasionally, but not frequently.

leob1

If I must, I will. But I will lower my speed, and look inside the cars, and watch for outher signs, break light comming on, etc

SSP

I ride on the wrong side of the road, positioned "centerish" in the lane, directly into oncoming traffic.

I find that it helps make me more "relevant" to approaching traffic, and improves my "cognitive conspicuity".

sbhikes

Why are Head Polls (TM) always phrased in such a way that you have to choose "other".

I frequently ride closer to the door zone than I probably should but I have never had a problem. It's always a balancing act between trying to ride safely and trying to show some courtesy to the poor frustrated people who didn't leave home early enough for whatever the heck they're in such a hurry to get to.

StrangeWill

What bugs me is that this poll needs to be multiple choice, I switch it up depending on what the road circumstances will allow me to safely do, but thinking of a little commute run I do, I end up hugging a handful of cars on the side of the road for a half a mile or so. So I figure I got more miles hugging cars than I do not hugging them.

SamHouston

Condensed poll:

1. Yes, I ride in the city [checkbox]

2. No, I ride mainly in rural areas [checkbox]

3. No, I don't ride, I make polls [checkbox]

In dense urban development, most of where I live and ride, all portions of the road are door zones by the JF acolyte formula. Dooring is a concern but the only solution available for about 100,000+ cyclists in this area would be to stay home.


of course, this would be a perfectly acceptable solution according to JF & HH, as there are no qualified cyclists among those 100,000+ by the standards they hold. Nevermind that JF & HH don't ride bikes regularly, that's beside the point.

CB HI

So, why would one of the following choices not fit what you do?

Yes, I regularly ride in door zones and have never been doored.
No, I avoid riding in door zones.

Or is it more to do with your hate towards HH?

powerhouse

I avoid riding in door zones whenever possible. Fortunately, I've rarely had to ride in door zones. During those times, I ride very slowly and have never been doored.

StrangeWill

"Regularly" makes it sound like a routine, like you regularly take a shower, or regularly take some medicine, I think the major problem here is people try to make every aspect of riding safely a 100% routine, as opposed to evaluating the conditions, then choosing the safest available choice.