Door zone

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The door zone, in the context of cycling, is the space spanning about four feet (1.2m) from the sides of parallel parked cars. It is hazardous to ride in a door zone because when a door suddenly opens, the cyclist must either crash into it or swerve into the adjacent lane of traffic. More rarely, an opening door may directly knock the cyclist into passing traffic, leading to serious injuries or death. Sometimes poorly designed bicycle lanes or cycle lanes are painted within door zones.

Most areas have laws that require car users to check for bicyclists before opening the door of their vehicle, but there still have been numerous deaths caused by the careless opening of car doors.

Effective cycling teaches, and vehicular cycling dictates, that cyclists should ride outside of the door zone of parallel-parked vehicles along the roadway, which generally means riding at least five feet away from the edge of parked cars. When riding in this position invites motorists to squeeze into the lane too close to the cyclist, cycling experts recommend using the full lane to avoid sharing the lane side by side with other vehicles.

[edit] External links

• The "Door Zone" includes instructive diagrams. These instructions have been criticized for encouraging cyclists to "Look inside each parked car before you pass it" despite the fact that at cycling speeds this is typically not practicable, and possibly dangerous. Some cycling advocacy groups claim that these instructions are an attempt to justify a poorly designed bicycle lane.
• The Door Zone Project