Originally Posted by
Miele Man
I...
Because if someone opens a driver side door when I'm directly opposit(e) 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 sta(t)ure 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.
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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