Be Careful Out There

Its Bike-To-Work Week in Chicago. Its has gotten off to to a bad start. On Monday a Bicyclist was "door" by an SUV and fell in front of another car that ran him over and killed him. (See http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-cyclist-dead-11-both-jun11,0,2308931.story) Meanwhile up on the North Side a CTA bus at Peterson and Broadway (a pretty wide open intersection) took out another bicyclist who is in serious condition.

For those that do not know, "dooring" is the process wherein the occupant of a car opens a door into the path of an oncoming bicycle. I, and most other bicyclists in the City, have been doored many times, and I was doored seriously once. (I suffered a broken hand, bruises on my legs, and a concussion when a Pizza delivery driver - trying to make his delivery commitment -- threw open his door without looking right as I was passing).

So far I have had a relatively uneventful Bike-To-Work week. I have only been "nearly" sideswiped by two cars that don't seem to understand the concept of a bike lane and the one time I was "doored" this week I was going slow enough to stop in time. (I pay close attention to the mirrors and the brake lights on cars in front of me. Normally once can see the cars park or other indicia that suggest that a door may open. In such cases, I take as many precautions as possible including making sure that traffic behind me is either slow or not there.)

What does this mean to my blog reader (maybe I have two or three now)? Not a great deal. But what I want to urge all of you to do is to take extra care when you open your car door. The life that you save might be the POD's.