A car opened its door on me as I was lane sharing yesterday

[eb125]

Maybe....

But if contact was inevitable and one is going down anyway.

I did think about it....

Besides, my Dad was an engineer and he said.............

Damn work is keeping me from being BARF current.

STGuy has it right about the end result of hitting an open car door. I was splitting past stopped traffic in SF one day at 15-20mph with plenty of room between the parked cars and the line of cars to my left which had backed up a whole block waiting for a light on 6th that leads up to 280. Of course I was paying close attention to the parked cars for any drivers that might pop out from my right. Instead a passenger decided to get out of a car on my left as I was passing. No time to hit the brakes, move over, anything. The door impacted the left side of my fairing and shunted me into a vacant parking spot 45 degrees right of the door. It was a small 4-door car. The passenger hadn't moved yet so was unhurt. Somehow I didn't get a scratch either (full gear) and landed just like someone had leaned me over from the curb onto the left side of my bike with me still in the seat. I reached up and turned the key off and I remember thinking "there goes my day of riding".

What occurred to me later was that I could easliy have lost an arm or a leg or both in the battle with the sharp leading edge of that car door. The door ended up folded up against the front fender. The bike was totalled which was covered by my insurance. My carrier didn't follow through on informing me of the arbitration that was held to decide the question of fault, nor did they bother to attend, so I never got to make my argument. Since they screwed up the arbitration they paid both parties and I even got my deductible back.

I was incredibly lucky. I reccommend not hitting car doors at all costs.

 

[machete]

sooooo, did the OP file a report or what?

 

[Sane_Man]

STGuy has it right about the end result of hitting an open car door. I was splitting past stopped traffic in SF one day at 15-20mph with plenty of room between the parked cars and the line of cars to my left which had backed up a whole block waiting for a light on 6th that leads up to 280. Of course I was paying close attention to the parked cars for any drivers that might pop out from my right. Instead a passenger decided to get out of a car on my left as I was passing. No time to hit the brakes, move over, anything. The door impacted the left side of my fairing and shunted me into a vacant parking spot 45 degrees right of the door. It was a small 4-door car. The passenger hadn't moved yet so was unhurt. Somehow I didn't get a scratch either (full gear) and landed just like someone had leaned me over from the curb onto the left side of my bike with me still in the seat. I reached up and turned the key off and I remember thinking "there goes my day of riding".

What occurred to me later was that I could easliy have lost an arm or a leg or both in the battle with the sharp leading edge of that car door. The door ended up folded up against the front fender. The bike was totalled which was covered by my insurance. My carrier didn't follow through on informing me of the arbitration that was held to decide the question of fault, nor did they bother to attend, so I never got to make my argument. Since they screwed up the arbitration they paid both parties and I even got my deductible back.

I was incredibly lucky. I reccommend not hitting car doors at all costs.

Yeah, sharing lanes between the right of cars and either a shoulder or row of parked cars is not a very smart thing to do. A car could have tried to turn in to an empty parking space, driveway or lot, then you would have hit it broadside. You probably would be found at fault, but since you probably would have been thrown over the car, you may die.

 

[Godsdarling]

Traffic was going about 30-35, and I wasnt splitting that much faster. Slow enough to brake as I saw this guys door open. Car was in the number one lane on 101 South, about 10 miles south of San Mateo, and the passenger opened the door.
I braked and got behind the car and remembered all of his information. So just watch for this car guys-I saw it today also, so they commute

Green Honda Accord
License plate number: 5wzs943
Sticker on lower left bumper blue/white says 'ice cream' something

Driver has short black hair, black glasses, mustache/short beard
Passenger has light brown/reddish hair, and was wearing a black beanie both days

That happened to me on my commute home a few months ago! He opened the door and all I heard was the guy in the passenger say "dude, its a chic!" The guy shuts his door and I pulled up to his window and told him "it shouldn't matter." and rode off but it was nerve wracking to say the least.

 

[revnort]

The wife and I just made the SAME decision. Not only can we use the camera when 4 wheelin and fun. But can use it when riding around town to capture the "no, you actually DID do that" moments.

Did it, got one for myself and a friend. Been using it for a couple days and I LOVE it. As much as I love watching my commute over again I can't wait to get on some decent roads this weekend with the thing.

Should I ever need it for legal reasons it will more than justify the price and then some. Well it is already worth the price just for fun

 

[cbr600FS]

I am new here and so far I like the threads. Newayz, I once got pulled over by a motorcycle cop in Sacramento for spilling my coffee on the street. It was consider littering...

 

[DaveT319]

Ride within your limits but keep in mind that there are some who have no problem splitting at 80+. It is not the absolute speed, it is the delta between you and the others.

This is just ego bullshit. When you're traveling THAT fast, things happen a lot faster. Someone can suddenly decide to change lanes as you're coming along, at they cover the distance between those lanes much more quickly than in stop-and-go. A person thinks that sharing at 80 is "within their limits" right up until they get taken out. It's not "your limits" that you have to worry about, it's the "limits" of the bumbasses in the cars around you that will get you killed. So don't let your ego talk you into sharing at too fast of a speed thinking that you will have good enough reflexes to keep from getting splattered. You don't.

Be smart, you'll live longer.

Dave