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Geico (Partially) Blames Cyclist for Getting Doored

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Geico (Partially) Blames Cyclist for Getting Doored

Old 03-13-13, 08:27 AM
  #26  
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You mean Moore, representing herself, was told by a mega insurance company that the victim is to blame and not their insured? Gosh, that's amazing, never heard of such a thing. And they have such cute commercials...maybe she should right a letter to that Gecko with the accent! He seems nice....
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Old 03-13-13, 08:28 AM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by markus_mudd
If the driver opened his/her door into the path of an oncoming car and it got knocked off....Would the passing vehicle be blamed? Or would the driver who opened their door into traffic be blamed?
My expectation is that the passing vehicle would not be blamed, since otherwise every car in every city would have to move to the opposing lane just to drive down any street if they wanted to avoid the door zone. ;-)
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Old 03-13-13, 08:47 AM
  #28  
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if you observe motorists, they stay way out of the door zone. If they are forced to drive in the door zone by a narrow street, they go very slowly. I have never seen a driver speeding through the door zone, although I'm sure it happens
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Old 03-13-13, 09:19 AM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by mulveyr
My expectation is that the passing vehicle would not be blamed, since otherwise every car in every city would have to move to the opposing lane just to drive down any street if they wanted to avoid the door zone. ;-)
Originally Posted by unterhausen
if you observe motorists, they stay way out of the door zone. If they are forced to drive in the door zone by a narrow street, they go very slowly. I have never seen a driver speeding through the door zone, although I'm sure it happens
It's not hard to stay out of the door zone when you are a motorist. Even Third World countries space things out enough so cars can pass parked traffic without door incidents. When that isn't the case, you don't have a road. However, cyclists, by definition are going to be traveling in door zones in urban areas a lot of the time. Only in the commuting forum do I ever see DON'T RIDE IN THE DOOR ZONE rhetoric. When I am actually on the road, the bikes I see are all in the bike lanes and the bike lanes all run through the door zones of the traffic parked to the right. At the extreme left of the bike lane one can usually avoid the door of a Honda Civic but you may be caught out by the five foot wide barrn door of a vintage Lincoln Continental. As I understand it, the law in most places is that the driver is always 100% at fault in a dooring. Geico is just playing smartarse here. Under pressure, they will cave. The majority of cyclists will continue to ride in the door zone because the urban speed limits of 25mph are not reasonably attainable by even the fitter cyclists doing the urban commute thing. I would really like to meet some of the bad*** ADZ zealots that post here. I'd like to ride along on their commutes and see first hand if they walk the talk... ride the.... anyway, as I said in another thread, I have cruised more miles in door zones, without incident, than many will ever ride period. It doesn't have to be a death sentence.

H
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Old 03-13-13, 09:37 AM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by acidfast7


easily avoidable. inattentive cyclist.

some of our bike lanes are always in the door area so you always scan to ensure that doors are not coming.

bike lanes in the door area in FFM:



i'd also have a few "words" with the driver.
What a stupid post. Hey guys someone got hurt, let's laugh at her because she's different than me!!!

Opening a door into the path of traffic is ILLEGAL.

Parking in bike lane = ILLEGAL.

The cyclist is 100% the victim and deserves every penny she gets.

If you really think you can tell her 100% of the time exactly how far to stay from a car to avoid the door, and exactly when and where a car door can open, you're being nearly as ignorant as the driver in the story.
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Old 03-13-13, 09:54 AM
  #31  
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Looks to me like the driver opened the door INTO the cyclist, not in front of. In that scenario, the cyclist would not have time or ability to take any evasive action. Car is in the wrong in several ways stated above and the driver did not take due care before entering a traffic lane with the door. The cyclist should have expected it though, that's how I ride. I don't think it is technically her fault at all but I try to give cars a wide berth. I look at every drivers side mirror as I approach just to see if anyone is in the vehicle.

Some two door cars have very very long doors too. I try never to park next to one in a parking lot.
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Old 03-13-13, 10:08 AM
  #32  
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First: From the camera angle, it appears that she moved as far to the left as she could without entering the oncoming lane, and out of what most would have anticipated as the primary 'door zone'.

Second, there is a huge difference from saying "the cyclist could have done more to prevent" and "the cyclist shares some of the legal fault"

E.G. In most 'rear end' type accidents, the front car is likely to have been able to do things to prevent being rear ended. They may have shared some role in the prevent-ability of the accident (signaling their intent, using less than 100% of braking force, if the situation allowed, moving left or right as they braked if possible, etc...) yet the law does not REQUIRE these actions.

Likewise, this cyclist may have been able to take additional actions to prevent the harm, but it does not seem reasonable that she was legally required to do so. She was proceeding lawfully, and the driver's actions (parking in the bike lane, opening his door without looking IMMEDIATELY AFTER he passed the cyclist) would seem to be 100% of the legal cause of the accident.
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Old 03-13-13, 10:10 AM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by unterhausen
if you observe motorists, they stay way out of the door zone. If they are forced to drive in the door zone by a narrow street, they go very slowly. I have never seen a driver speeding through the door zone, although I'm sure it happens
If this were true, no car would ever hit another car's door and tear it off. This is simply not true. Rare, sure, but it happens. Watch enough youtube 'fail' videos, and you'll see many.
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Old 03-13-13, 10:34 AM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by CptjohnC
First: From the camera angle, it appears that she moved as far to the left as she could without entering the oncoming lane, and out of what most would have anticipated as the primary 'door zone'.

Second, there is a huge difference from saying "the cyclist could have done more to prevent" and "the cyclist shares some of the legal fault"

E.G. In most 'rear end' type accidents, the front car is likely to have been able to do things to prevent being rear ended. They may have shared some role in the prevent-ability of the accident (signaling their intent, using less than 100% of braking force, if the situation allowed, moving left or right as they braked if possible, etc...) yet the law does not REQUIRE these actions.

Likewise, this cyclist may have been able to take additional actions to prevent the harm, but it does not seem reasonable that she was legally required to do so. She was proceeding lawfully, and the driver's actions (parking in the bike lane, opening his door without looking IMMEDIATELY AFTER he passed the cyclist) would seem to be 100% of the legal cause of the accident.
Yes. Well said.
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Old 03-13-13, 10:38 AM
  #35  
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Originally Posted by bigfred
What are the legal implications of the cyclist sharing in the responsibility?
No legal implications (like DMV-wise) but I don't know if Geico will want to sue the cyclist for 20% of costs to repair body damage on the car. Maybe they will just use that rationalization as a hammer to get the cyclist to accept whatever they do offer. And Geico intends to pay only 80% of whatever liability claim they work out w/ the cyclist.

Geico's determination of liability is not binding on anyone, by the way, the cyclist is free to get a lawyer and sue the driver and Geico and let a jury decide what Geico's liability should be.

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Old 03-13-13, 10:41 AM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by agent pombero
I think the driver should be 100% responsible in determining if the coast is clear before opening the door. Failure to do so translates into 100% at fault IMO.
That's a good point, a neighbor opened her door into traffic (after parallel parking) and it got smooshed by a car speeding up behind her, and it was entirely her fault for insurance purposes. And traffic ticket purposes.

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Old 03-13-13, 11:03 AM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by markus_mudd
If the driver opened his/her door into the path of an oncoming car and it got knocked off....Would the passing vehicle be blamed? Or would the driver who opened their door into traffic be blamed?
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Old 03-13-13, 11:54 AM
  #38  
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No death. Thank god.

Edit: Also watched the camera footage a few times. looks like the door was almost opened into the cyclist. Nothing she could have done to avoid the collision short of a full stop. She was already going slow.

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Old 03-13-13, 01:05 PM
  #39  
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Anyone who willing rides in the door zone shares in the responsibility.
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Old 03-13-13, 01:11 PM
  #40  
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Originally Posted by markus_mudd
If the driver opened his/her door into the path of an oncoming car and it got knocked off....Would the passing vehicle be blamed? Or would the driver who opened their door into traffic be blamed?
This. I can't count the number of times I've almost performed an accidental doorectomy with my truck because the driver couldn't be bothered to look before opening (and usually, jumping out and standing just beyond the end of the door, to boot). I think I've seen a half-dozen or so vehicles over the last few days with the leading edge of the driver's side door bent outward. I wonder how that happened...
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Old 03-13-13, 01:11 PM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by woodway
Anyone who willing rides in the door zone shares in the responsibility.
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Old 03-13-13, 01:17 PM
  #42  
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Originally Posted by woodway
Anyone who willing rides in the door zone shares in the responsibility.
Yup and it amazes that people can disagree with this and are not willing to take any responsibility for there own safety. It is road cycling 101. Do not ride in the door zone. It makes no difference if the car should or should not be there...... just don't do it.
I am not talking legally here folks just cycling common sense.
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Old 03-13-13, 01:55 PM
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Originally Posted by garysol1
Yup and it amazes that people can disagree with this and are not willing to take any responsibility for there own safety. It is road cycling 101. Do not ride in the door zone. It makes no difference if the car should or should not be there...... just don't do it.
I am not talking legally here folks just cycling common sense.
uh...except the entire situation and thread is about legality. Everyone knows it's a bad idea to ride in a door zone, which is obviously why she went so far around to try and avoid it.
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Old 03-13-13, 01:58 PM
  #44  
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moved here from commuting
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Old 03-13-13, 01:59 PM
  #45  
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Originally Posted by Commodus
uh...except the entire situation and thread is about legality. Everyone knows it's a bad idea to ride in a door zone, which is obviously why she went so far around to try and avoid it.
She tried to go around it?? Are we watching the same video? There was no traffic behind her and she had plenty of time to check for that. All she had to do was go out into the lane and there would have been no incident. Is the car at fault.... absolutely! Could it have been avoided... absolutely!
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Old 03-13-13, 02:17 PM
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Since when does the insurance company determine percentage of fault? That should be in the police report.
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Old 03-13-13, 02:20 PM
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Originally Posted by garysol1
She tried to go around it?? Are we watching the same video? There was no traffic behind her and she had plenty of time to check for that. All she had to do was go out into the lane and there would have been no incident. Is the car at fault.... absolutely! Could it have been avoided... absolutely!
Everything could be avoided...what's the point of even writing that? And apparently we didn't watch the same video, as the one I watched clearly showed the door striking her on the extreme right, while she was on the extreme left of her lane. There was, after all, oncoming traffic, lest you suggest she simply wander into the other lane.

Perhaps she should have mounted a laser micrometer to ther bike, to accurately measure the length of every car door she passes.
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Old 03-13-13, 02:40 PM
  #48  
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What an unpleasant bit of video to watch. While it's true that the cyclist should have taken the lane - I certainly would have done so in this situation since there was no interfering traffic (if there had been, I would have slowed down a lot) - I would give all, repeat all, of the blame to the motorist. It is an ABSOLUTE responsibility of drivers to check their mirrors and/or turn their heads to make sure no cyclist is coming along. Motorists should assume that a cyclist is there unless proven otherwise.

To say that the cyclist could have avoided the accident is irrelevant to the question of who was at fault. My sister was doored on Mass Ave in Cambridge in a similar sort of event - very nasty and the fault of the cager.
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Old 03-13-13, 03:22 PM
  #49  
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Originally Posted by garysol1
Would you ever pass a parked car within doors reach....ever?
All the time.

But with rare exceptions it is where I've had the parked car in view for 1/4 mile or more. IF I see any activity in or near the car then NO.
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Old 03-13-13, 03:31 PM
  #50  
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Originally Posted by CenturionIM
No death. Thank god.

Edit: Also watched the camera footage a few times. looks like the door was almost opened into the cyclist. Nothing she could have done to avoid the collision short of a full stop. She was already going slow.
And stopping would have put and kept her in harms way from any vehicle coming from behind.

Considering a pic of a vet under a truck on the interstate is the lead in another thread right now the risk from being stopped where traffic is normally moving is not the safest option. What is a fender bender for a car may be fatal on a bike.
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