The city’s Public Works and Infrastructure Committee has asked city staff to report back on ways to reduce “dooring” incidents, where cyclists are injured by opening car doors.
Dooring incidents can seriously injure or even kill cyclists.
Toronto police say there have been 171 reported dooring incidents so far this year, but point out that number is probably lower than the actual total because many incidents go unreported.
A motion brought forward by TDSB Trustee Chris Glover at today’s meeting asked the city to petition the province to reclassify dooring incidents as collisions so that they would need to be reported to police, much as collisions between vehicles are.
Currently there is no legal obligation to report dooring incidents to police.
“We need both levels of government to take measures (to) reduce doorings and to keep cyclists safe,” Glover said in a statement.
While the city has tried to make cycling a safer, more attractive option by creating dedicated bike lanes, cycling advocates say that the possibility of getting “doored” is still very real and scary in many parts of the city.
“When you get doored you have nowhere to go in the outside lane because there’s traffic, so you try and swerve around, but either way you’re going to get hit by the door or traffic,” one cyclists told CTV News Toronto.
Cyclists say that taxis or Uber vehicles letting off passengers can be particularly dangerous.
One simple idea Glover says could be effective is the so-called “Dutch Reach” a method taught to drivers in the Netherlands, where cycling is a very popular way of getting around. The idea is that the driver opens the car door with the right hand, forcing them to turn their bodies in a way that would give a view of approaching cyclists.
Glover posted a short video to his Twitter account Wednesday with several city councilors demonstrating the move. He said he’d like to see the simple change included ijn driver education courses and literature across the province.
Other ideas floated in the motion include asking the province to amend the Highway Traffic Act so that drivers would be partially responsible if one of their passengers doors a cyclist; new training requirements for vehicle-for-hire operators; and requiring rear view mirrors be installed on all passenger doors on vehicles for hire.
