Tip to look in side-view mirrors

[Patricia Kovacs]

Dear Bicycle Driving,

Recently, the City of Columbus developed a "tip card" for cyclist safety. The communications firm which developed the card asked for input from area cyclists, including me, back in June. But when the tip card came out, I was surprised to see the following tip:

Ride outside the "door zone".

When pedaling past parked cars, look at the driver's-side mirrors. If you see someone, assume the door is about to open, and slow down.

I have never heard this tip before. When I called the person responsible for developing the tip card and asked where this tip came from, she said she read it on a bicycle forum. Hmm, let's take the advice we read on the Internet over advice from local League Cycling instructors (we have 11). Since then, my husband and I have been looking in side-view mirrors and I feel it's almost impossible to do this. The sun reflects from the mirror, the tinted windows hide the driver, you don't see the driver's seat til you're about 5' behind the mirror.

The closest thing I've seen to this tip is in John Franklin's Cyclecraft in which he recommends to ride far enough BEHIND a car to be able to see both side-view mirrors (not see in the cars through the mirrors). Then you know the driver can see you. I also learned this in drivers' ed school regarding following trucks.

Has anyone ever seen this tip before and does anyone think it's a good practice? I think it's ridiculous.
Thanks,

Tricia Kovacs

Columbus, Ohio

[Herman F. Ebeling, Jr.]

>Apr 22, 2013 07:07:34, pko...@att.net wrote:
>Dear Bicycle Driving,Recently, the City of Columbus developed a "tip card" for cyclist safety. The communications firm which developed the card asked for input from area cyclists, including me, back in June. But when the tip card came out, I was surprised to see the following tip:Ride outside the "door zone".When pedaling past parked cars, look at the driver's-side mirrors. If you see someone, assume the door is about to open, and slow down.

>I have never heard this tip before. When I called the person responsible for developing the tip card and asked where this tip came from, she said she read it on a bicycle forum. Hmm, let's take the advice we read on the Internet over advice from local League Cycling instructors (we have 11). Since then, my husband and I have been looking in side-view mirrors and I feel it's almost impossible to do this. The sun reflects from the mirror, the tinted windows hide the driver, you don't see the driver's seat til you're about 5' behind the mirror.
>The closest thing I've seen to this tip is in John Franklin's Cyclecraft in which he recommends to ride far enough BEHIND a car to be able to see both side-view mirrors (not see in the cars through the mirrors). Then you know the driver can see you. I also learned this in drivers' ed school regarding following trucks.
>Has anyone ever seen this tip before and does anyone think it's a good practice? I think it's ridiculous.
>Thanks,Tricia KovacsColumbus, Ohio

Tricia,

I can't say as I have heard that particular advice. However when I'm out riding I ride far enough away from parked cars that if one should open it's door unexpectedly I will not (no pun intended) impact me at all.

However when I come up to either a red light or a stop light. I will stop far enough to the left so that I can see the driver in the outside rearview mirror. Using the logic that if I can see them in their outside mirror then presumably they can see me. The longer the vehicle i.e. a truck or bus I'll position myself even further to the left and a bit of a ways further back so that hopefully they'll know that I am back there.

Did you ask which forum that that tip came from?

---------------------------------
Herman F. Ebeling, Jr.
Live Long and Prosper

[Patricia Kovacs]

Herman,

I didn't ask which forum they got the tip from. I did tell them not to print the tip sheet as written but it was too late, already printed.

I do ride far enough left of parked cars to avoid doors. But we have been looking in side view mirrors just to see if it can be done, and it just doesn't work. I also stop at red lights or stop signs far enough left and behind so the drivers ahead in my direction and oncoming can see me.

Tricia

---

From: "Herman F. Ebeling, Jr." <hfebe...@lycos.com>

[Serge Issakov]

Yes, I've read and heard this before, many times, in different variations.  If I remember correctly, it's the advice given by Eugene A Sloane in The Complete Book of Bicycling, at least in the 1970's edition.  I think he also suggests looking for cigarette smoke billowing out of cracked-open windows as a sign that the car is occupied and the door might open. 

Yes, it's ridiculous.  Even 15 mph is 22 feet per second.  More than a car length every second.   Reaction time alone can take 1-2 seconds.  Never mind that the most likely reaction is to swerve left in front of overtaking traffic. 

As far as I know the advice to (and reasoning for) simply stay out of the door zone first came from John Forester.  

Serge

Sent from my iPhone

[Bob Sutterfield]

The tip-card producer probably couldn't say where she got this one, because this advice has been around forever. Cyclists learn it at their mother's knee, along with other golden tidbits of common sense like staying right out of the way of cars. 

If the city or county or state has an official reporting format for a hazardous condition, you could use its language to put them on notice that they are distributing misinformation that purposefully directs cyclists into mortal hazards. Demand they withdraw all extant copies of the literature from distribution, and destroy them. Send Cc:s to the mayor, the chief of police, the sergeant of the traffic enforcement division, the city's director of transportation, director of public service, and the chairs of the transportation and pedestrian commission and of its bicycle subcommittee.

On Mon, Apr 22, 2013 at 4:07 AM, Patricia Kovacs <pko...@att.net> wrote:

the City of Columbus developed a "tip card" for cyclist safety...

[John Forester]

This is one more bit of maladvice akin to the look the motorist in the eye foolishness. Such advisers seem to think that cycling is conducted as a conversation at a party. But you never see such maladvice being given to motorists, because they know that trying to observe another motorist's eye focus point is pointless. Observe the vehicle and its movements, and predict, from what you know about traffic behavior (which is a necessary subject for all drivers), the range of movements that it may next do. And cycle accordingly.

--
--

-- 
John Forester, MS, PE
Bicycle Transportation Engineer
7585 Church St. Lemon Grove CA 91945-2306
619-644-5481    fore...@johnforester.com
www.johnforester.com

[John S. Allen]

Here is John Forester's advice from the 2nd edition (1975) of Effective Cycling, page 3.1-5. I put this first because it is the better -- game-changing -- advice. I first encountered advice to ride outside the door zone when purchased Effective Cycling in 1977 and read this.

3.1.6   PARKED CARS

Don't think only of the width of the parked car, but see every one as if it has its door open. Drivers of parked cars habitually open doors into the space in which you ride, because they know that cars don't use that space. They also swing their front ends out to see if they can reenter traffic. You've all been cautioned to be prepared to stop. That's baloney issued by non-cyclists. Why should they ask you to stop, just because your'e not strong enough to tear off their door? You can't do it. At 15 mph it takes more than two car lengths to recognize a danger and stop, and you can't see the danger two car lengths ahead. If you're caught that way you have only one choice; dodge out into the traffic lane. It's much safer to ride there consistently in the first place. So ride far enough away from a string of parked cars to clear an open door. If there are gaps in the string don't dodge out of the traffic lane between the cars, because entering a traffic stream is one of the significant causes of car/bike collisions. Don't make yourself enter the stream more often than necessary Make only one exception: if there's a solitary parked car ahead with big windows and low seat back, so you can positively see it's empty, then ride close to it.

Now, let's look at advice on the dooring hazard from two popular bicycling books also published in the 1970s.

Following is the advice concerning to riding on streets with parking on pages 24 and 25 of the 1974 edition of Eugene Sloane's The New Complete Book of Bicycling.

* Never ride on a city street where parking is not allowed. There is simply no room for you between the traffic and the gutter on streets were car parking is forbidden. Such streets are high-traffic through streets. Cars might drive you right into the curb, or drive behind you honking madly because your bike is moving too slowly.

* As a corollary to the above, always ride on city streets where car parking is allowed and, in fact, where cars are parked. By laws, traffic is supposed to allow from thirty to thirty-six inches, up to a full three feet, on streets where cars are parked, to allow for the doors of parked cars to open easily. (Unfortunately, this is not always adhered to.) If you are a reasonably skilled cyclist and can ride straight, thirty inches will be all you will need. You'll even have room to spare.

* Watch out for car doors opening ahead of you when riding on streets with parked cars! Discourteous drivers have whipped in ahead of me, parked their cars, and opened the door on the driver's side, all in one motion, forcing me to veer out into the stream of traffic to avoid running into them. As you cycle on streets with parked cars, keep a close watch on the cars as far ahead as you can see. I have trained myself to watch parked cars for a block ahead, and to notice what's going on in all the parked cars on that block.

* In particular, watch through the rear windows and look at the sideview mirrors of parked cars. These will help you know if a driver or passenger is about to open a door. You may notice a driver who appears immobile and waiting, but I have found that this does not mean that he won't suddenly leap out of his car. Some cities and states have an ordinance that makes the driver liable for any accidents caused by his opening a door on the traffic side, but you will still be better off if you can avoid running into a car door any time. Watch out especially for children in cars: they are always unpredictable.

The whiplash protector above car seats can hide the actions of a driver who may be about to open a door, since it covers much of his head area. So be doubly careful; assume that any car in which you can't see the driver's side may have an occupant who's about to open his street-side door in front of you.

And here is the advice from page 220 of the 1978 edition of DeLong's Guide to Bicycles and Bicycling, the Art and Science, by A .Fred DeLong. Google Books reports the same wording in the 1974 edition. The paragraphs below are accompanied by a photo of students in a class practicing evasion of an opening door.

The Opened Car Door

It is against the law in most states for a driver to open his door on the street side in the face of oncoming traffic. The opening of a curbside door several feet from the curb -- far enough from the curb to permit a cyclist to pass on the right -- is less illegal. Yet both these actions happen often. When passing cars which have an occupant on your side, anticipate that he might open a door in your path. Note any action -- the motion of a shoulder or arm -- that could signify he is about to open the door. The cyclist may be able to avoid a door if swung open without warning through his rapid maneuvering skill if no high-speed traffic is approaching form the rear. But all too often, the door is opened so quickly that a painful crash occurs. Thus the cyclist, being the one who can sustain more damage, must learn how to prevent this type of accident before riding on traveled streets.

In a series of parked cars, station several occupants who will open the door without warning in the path of riders taking the test. The rider should approach slowly at first and than at increased speeds. The little indications of an obstacle-to-be become apparent. The evasive maneuver, practiced shortly before in our rapid turn on sight signal, is here put to the test!

At 09:44 AM 4/22/2013, Serge Issakov wrote:

Yes, I've read and heard this before, many times, in different variations.  If I remember correctly, it's the advice given by Eugene A Sloane in The Complete Book of Bicycling, at least in the 1970's edition.  I think he also suggests looking for cigarette smoke billowing out of cracked-open windows as a sign that the car is occupied and the door might open.

Yes, it's ridiculous.  Even 15 mph is 22 feet per second.  More than a car length every second.   Reaction time alone can take 1-2 seconds.  Never mind that the most likely reaction is to swerve left in front of overtaking traffic.

As far as I know the advice to (and reasoning for) simply stay out of the door zone first came from John Forester. 

Serge

John S. Allen

Technical Writer/Editor,  http://sheldonbrown.com

League Cycling Instructor #77-C

jsallen *at* bikexprt.com
http://bikexprt.com
http://john-s-allen.com/blog
http://bostonbiker.org/streetsmarts

[Herman F. Ebeling, Jr.]

Apr 22, 2013 09:33:30, pko...@att.net wrote:
Herman,I didn't ask which forum they got the tip from. I did tell them not to print the tip sheet as written but it was too late, already printed.

>I do ride far enough left of parked cars to avoid doors. But we have been looking in side view mirrors just to see if it can be done, and it just doesn't work. I also stop at red lights or stop signs far enough left and behind so the drivers ahead in my direction and oncoming can see me.Tricia

>From: "Herman F. Ebeling, Jr."
hfebe...@lycos.com>
>Tricia,
>
>    I can't say as I have heard that particular advice.  However when I'm out riding I ride far enough away from parked cars that if one should open it's door unexpectedly I will not (no pun intended) impact me at all.
>
>    However when I come up to either a red light or a stop light.  I will stop far enough to the left so that I can see the driver in the outside rearview mirror.  Using the logic that if I can see them in their outside mirror then presumably they can see me.  The longer the vehicle i.e. a truck or bus I'll position myself even further to the left and a bit of a ways further back so that hopefully they'll know that I am back there.
>
>    Did you ask which forum that that tip came from?
>
>---------------------------------
>Herman F. Ebeling, Jr.
>
>

Tricia,

Maybe they can "update" that tip card when they reprint it in the future. It would be nice to know where that advice came from.

---------------------------------
Herman F. Ebeling, Jr.

Live Long and Prosper

[John S. Allen]

And here is from the 1978 edition of Richard's Bicycle Book, by Richard Ballantine, pages 123-124

Very often you will be riding next to parked cars. Be especially careful of motorists opening doors in your path. Exhaust smoke and faces in rear-view mirrors are tips. Even if a motorist looks right at you and is seemingly waiting for you to pass, give her/him a wide berth. Believe it or not, you may not register on his-her consciousness, and she/he may open the door in your face.

[Robert Cooper]

Nice summary from Mr. Allen.

Sloane gives lots of complicated advice that requires the cyclist to posses hyper alertness along with preternatural skill and athleticism: “I have trained myself to watch parked cars for a block ahead…” and similar wizardry.

DeLong also possesses unnatural skill, and in addition to looking forward, he is able to look back just before swerving out into traffic to avoid the door: “… through his rapid maneuvering skill, if no high-speed traffic is approaching from the rear…”

Forester is more democratic. He gives real democratic advice that’s easy to understand and to follow: Stay out of the door zone.

The Columbus Ad Campaign people -- the ones who published the card with the faulty advice -- do not take cycling seriously, and they feel that, since it’s just a matter of opinion anyway, everyone’s opinion is of equal value: A sort of faux democratic approach to “truth,” a variation on “everything is true.”

Since Mr. Forester’s advice on this and most other cycling matters is simple and easy to follow, it’s indeed ironic that he has an “elitist” reputation among those who disagree with him.

The best thing Eugene Sloane ever did was to point out, in his book, the existence of another book, Effective Cycling, which is how I discovered Forester many years ago.