Not only is there the risk of injury, but a rider can also be knocked into passing traffic with catastrophic results.

RAA’s 2022 Risky Rides survey found that 57% of survey respondents had experienced a vehicle door opening directly in front of them. This figure increased to 69% for riders who cycled nearly every day.

Victorian Government statistics revealed that there were 726 dooring incidents in that state between July 2014 and June 2019. Of these, 207 resulted in serious injury and there was one fatality.

Seasoned cyclists do their best to avoid the vehicle door zone, but on narrow roads and those without permanent kerbside cycle lanes, it’s not always possible to steer clear.

The solution is for motorists to check behind them before opening the door. Unfortunately, this isn’t always forefront in people’s mind when they’re out and about.

The Dutch Reach

The Dutch Reach is a simple technique that involves opening the door with the hand furthest from it. This forces the driver and driver-side passenger to swivel around and spot cyclists and other traffic approaching from behind.

RAA’s Senior Manager of Safety and Infrastructure, Charles Mountain, says, “If this technique became ingrained in motorists’ psyche, like putting on a seatbelt, the danger of dooring could be eliminated.”

Mary Safe is patron of the cycling safety advocacy organisation, the Amy Gillett Foundation. She believes the Dutch Reach needs to be included in education programs for learners and existing drivers.

“In the Netherlands, it’s in the school curriculum for bike safety and it’s included in driver education programs,” she says.

Mrs Safe, together with Darren Davis from the Get Home Safe Foundation, has held information sessions for driving instructors, covering the technique. They’ve also distributed Dutch Reach stickers for attaching to driver training manuals and the front cover of students’ logbooks.

“We plan to discuss with the Police Minister (Joe Szakacs) how we can improve the course for learner drivers, by including entering and exiting the vehicle as a licence assessment task,” Mrs Safe says.

“The Dutch Reach costs nothing. It will be a new learned behaviour that can benefit all road users by reducing death and injury. Dooring is absolutely preventable.”

The SA Driver’s Handbook includes a section on the Dutch Reach on pages 32 and 33. Under South Australia’s motor vehicle regulations, creating a hazard by opening the door of a vehicle or leaving the door open carries a $204 fine, plus a $94 Victims of Crime Levy and three demerit points.