Cyclists:

[johnridley]

Proper positioning when riding past parked cars. Don't allow yourself to be doored, it can come from nowhere, and can get you killed before you can blink.

Comments

[madtechie2718.livejournal.com]

Been there, had that done to me, broken the bone.

Things that hurt most of all?

Not the broken bone, but the road rash on my hands - followed by having the keys in my pocket punched through all the way to the bone in my leg.

So now, I always assume parked cars are out to get me, wear gloves when cycling and keep my huge bunch of hospital keys in my bag...

[johnridley.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've had the skin abraded off the heel of my hand a couple of times. I now consider gloves as important as a helmet when riding.

[rmeidaking.livejournal.com]

This can be tricky on side streets in Ann Arbor.

[johnridley.livejournal.com]

If it puts you in the middle of the lane, then that's where you need to be. The law definitely does not require you to put yourself in dangerous situations.
Or do you mean that the lane is so narrow that if you got that far from the cars on one side, you'd be closer than that to the other side, or in the oncoming lane?

[rmeidaking.livejournal.com]

It's tricky because the side streets have cars parked on both sides, typically have an on-coming vehicle as well, and not enough room left over to avoid both the on-coming car and a potential opening door. Fortunately the main streets increasingly have bike lanes (where cars aren't supposed to park), but those are right in the target zone for an opening driver's door.

[johnridley.livejournal.com]

Luckily you can usually see if there's someone in the car, and hug a little closer if there isn't.