General Information
What is Dooring?
Dooring is when the driver or passenger of a car opens a car door into or in front of a cyclist. Car doors can be seriously blemished or damaged, either by an inattentive cyclist inconsiderately slamming into the door, or by a cyclist brushing by the exterior of the car after the driver or passenger notices the approaching cyclist and quickly closes the car door.
Dooring is among the most common causes of car door damage, and repairing its effects often places a massive burden on cash-strapped car owners. In addition to the direct financial costs inflicted by dooring, car owners often are forced to devote countless hours to dealing with insurance companies and automobile body shops, causing a drain on productivity and exacerbating global economic problems.
The good news is that the property damage and inconvenience caused by dooring are totally preventable. Public transportation is available in most dense urban areas, and pedestrian sidewalks are ubiquitous, enabling cyclists to switch to more responsible methods of transportation while reducing the problems caused by mixing incompatible vehicle types on our roads. Switching to public transportation also enables cyclists to perspire less on their way to work or school, reducing the likelihood that coworkers and others will be exposed to foul odors often associated with excessive perspiration. In addition, former cyclists will no longer need to shower as frequently, conserving water and yielding other environmental benefits (although anecdotal experience suggests that many cyclists currently do not bathe as often as they should, so the extent of such benefits may be limited).
Antidooring.org exists to raise awareness about the effects of dooring and promote the exclusive use of our roads by the motor vehicles for which they were intended.
Won't This Make Our Roads More Congested?
That's a risk, if people stop riding bikes and switch to driving cars, but we don't think it's very likely to happen. Most cyclists can't afford to drive anyway, and increasing gas prices serve as an effective check on road congestion. Even if some of them do switch to cars, remember that cars hold more people than bicycles do--every car on the road can replace up to six bicycles. Ultimately, dooring and other measures that reduce the number of bicycles on the road will alleviate congestion rather than the other way around.
What Can I Do?
The most important action you can take is to prevent dooring is to stop riding your damn bike on the street. Remember, streets are for cars.
In an ideal world, cyclists would stay on bicycle tracks, where they belong, and we wouldn't have to worry about dooring. However, in the real world, some cyclists will persist in riding on public streets. Dooring has a Darwinian effect, reducing the cyclist population by weeding out the most inconsiderate and oblivious cyclists and informing others of the error of their ways.
Help us in our efforts by taking the "No Bikes" pledge, or help distribute stickers.