Cyclists face many different hazards that they need to watch for every time they ride. People often pass far too close to cyclists, for example, so they could be struck while another driver is overtaking them. Other cyclists get hit when drivers do not see them in a blind spot or turn into them while moving through an intersection.
But all of these hazards involve collisions with cars that are in motion. Getting doored is an accident that can happen with a car that is not even moving. It simply means that someone in the vehicle opens the door into the cyclist’s path, potentially leading to a severe accident.
Why would this happen?
This happens when drivers are parallel-parked along the side of the road. Cyclists will likely be riding along the right-hand shoulder or in a bike lane, which goes next to the parked cars. It is impossible for the cyclist who is coming up behind the vehicles to tell if anyone is even in them, much less about to open their door into the bike path.
The solution, of course, is that all drivers should check their mirrors to see if bikes are coming up behind them. But when drivers fail to do this, they can cause a very serious accident. In some cases, the cyclist hits the door directly. In other cases, they try to swerve out of the way of the door, but that just causes them to swerve into oncoming traffic lanes or into the path of another vehicle that is following them on the road.
No matter how it plays out, cyclists are often the ones who suffer serious injuries, and that is why it is so important for them to know what legal steps to take to seek compensation.