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news
Melbourne dooring YouTube stillMelbourne "dooring" video sparks heated row Down Under
A video of a cyclist being “doored” by a passenger exiting a taxi in Melbourne has prompted a big row over cycle safety Down Under – with an editorial in The Australian lashing out at “the menace of urban cyclists,” and BMW Australia seeking to disassociate itself from comments made on Facebook by one of its contractors.
The video was shot by a female cyclist who was riding down the gap between traffic and the kerb in Collins Street in central Melbourne – described in local reports as a “cycling refuge” rather than “a designated bike lane.”
As she does so, the rear passenger door of a taxi is opened into her path, with no time for her to avoid the collision.
The 28-year-old, who did not want to give her name, told NineMSN: "I take the risk and I know when I'm riding down there, I go very slowly.
"When I first started riding I was terrified of that lane, but it is the only practical and efficient way to get from work to home."
Following the incident, she followed the man who had opened the door, who called her “a fool” for riding up the inside of the vehicle. Repeatedly asked for his details, he gave the name “John Smith.” The younger of his two companions - all three males in suits - told her to “f*ck off.”
The original passenger, later identified as 65-year-old John Hunter, at one point turns and says, “the way people like you ride around is disgusting.”
According to NineMSN, he later turned himself into police, but was not charged.
An article on car door crashes on the website of Australian cycling advocacy group Bicycle Network says: “Rule 269(3) of the Victorian Road Safety Road Rules 2009 states it is an offence to cause a hazard to a person or a vehicle by opening a car door, leaving a door of a vehicle open, or getting off, or out of, a vehicle.”
Bicycle Network also provides advice to cyclists to help avoid such collisions, saying, “the tips for avoiding this type of crash are the same for avoiding crashes in general – ride sensibly and conservatively to avoid dangerous or risky situations in the first place.”
BMW under fire after Facebook post
BMW Australia then found itself under attack from cyclists after Facebook user Tony Chirinian, whose profile said he was business development manager at the German car maker, posted a message saying: “I vote for starting a new social media craze. DOORING … Start dooring cyclists & upload videos to social media.”
He has since deleted his account, but not before cyclists brought the post to the attention of BMW Australia, whose spokeswoman, Lenore Fletcher, told the Herald Sun it did not “in any way” support or condone the post.
“This individual is an external contractor to BMW Group Australia,” she added.
“Vehicle, passenger and commuter safety is an integral part of BMW’s Corporate philosophy and is a matter which we take very seriously. This issue has been handled internally.”
Bicycle Network spokesman Garry Brennan told the newspaper: “Driving is about how people behave, and our transport system wouldn’t work unless people were civil,” Mr Brennan said.
“(But) people who post things like this on Facebook are really social misfits. They might provoke a lot of anger, but really they’re not gonna have any impact on how people are behaving.”
The Herald Sun’s article highlights how the dooring incident has brought to a head tensions between certain cyclists and some motorists, with several of the latter quoted saying that cyclists should be licensed and pay insurance, and their bikes should be registered.
While feelings clearly run high on both sides, Melbourne, along with Adelaide, are widely viewed as Australia's most bike-friendly major cities, well ahead of Sydney and, in particular, Brisbane.
Newspaper hits out at "menace of urban cyclists"
On Friday, meanwhile, national newspaper The Australian published an editorial that hit out against “the menace of urban cyclists.” It said:
The arrogant sense of entitlement in our inner cities is also evident in the ever-growing number of cyclists snaking their way through pedestrians on overcrowded pathways, darting between cars and clogging-up lanes on our congested roadways.
The problem of city cyclists reached their apogee in Melbourne this week when a cyclist was “doored” on busy Collins Street, after a passenger opened a taxi door and a rider crashed into it. Neither the taxi nor its passenger could be deemed at fault because a narrow “bike lane” inhibited the taxi from stopping next to the kerb. The passenger was lucky to avoid serious injury.
What makes this incident even more absurd is that, although the lane was marked by a bicycle symbol, it was not actually a dedicated bicycle lane. Melbourne bike lanes must have signage, fixed to a pole, that shows the start and finish of a lane, as well as clear markings on the road itself. The state’s bicycle operations officer — yes, there is such a position — admits there is confusion for cyclists, pedestrians and motorists. Cyclists, including the one “doored” this week, are using cameras to film such incidents so they can make insurance claims. The Victorian government imposed even tougher on-the-spot fines in 2012 for people who opened car doors in the direct path of cyclists.
For too long, authorities have bowed to the demands of selfish cyclists and their lobby groups. Truth is, our cities are dominated by cars because they are sprawling. We have no equivalent of Amsterdam and should stop pretending we do.
The row comes against a background of a strong increase in the number of cyclists killed in Australia last year.
In mid-November, with seven weeks of the year remaining, News.com.au reported that cyclist fatalities were already 42 per cent higher than in 2012 and were running a third above the average of the past decade.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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48 comments
I thought the point of getting a taxi was it dropped you off exactly where you wanted to be? Those guys went for a half mile walk after getting dropped off.
I like BMW's but must question.
What's the difference between a BMW and a porcupine?
Porcupine has the pricks outside.
I implore cyclists who don't have the protection of steel round them to understand that the principles of speed and kinetic energy apply to them not just equally but more so.
Don't cycle at speed among stationary occupied cars. If you cannot leave a door's width passing space, slow to a crawl.
Injury and ability to stop and control the situation will depend directly and solely on the speed of the cyclist.
It's no good being in the right but your face is still stove in.
The Australian needs to read the secrets of the world's happiest cities.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/nov/01/secrets-worlds-happiest-c...
Nutty newspaper, by the sounds of it.
Piss poor attitude from the guy who opened the door, but I think the taxi driver is to blame here. If I was in a taxi and it pulled up to what I thought was the kerb, I doubt it would occur to me to check to see if there was another lane of traffic between myself and kerb as I opened the door. If I was opening my door on the traffic side, yes I would automatically check, but on the kerb side - probably not.
they just didn't give a $hit about anyone in their way when opening the door, they didn't look, or even think to look, very typical man-in-suit mentality.
Although it has to be said she did leave herself a tiny amount of road to get past the cab. I would have gone around the cab and not box myself in, or just stayed behind the cab ...
I lived in Melbourne for 8 years, I know Collins Street well, there is no where to go on the outside of traffic for that stretch, there is a wall to separate the trams, that pissy lane is all you have.
Australian taxi drivers are really bad, its seen as a rubbish job, that requires little or no training, you usually have to sit in the cab giving directions for the entire journey, or risk a tour of the entire city. I'm pretty sure the cab driver was breaking the law letting the passengers out there anyway.
The cyclist went up the inside ... passenger did nothing wrong. Taxi driver should have pulled in further to prevent cyclists from undertaking ... the driver should have been aware of the possibility of cyclists using the inside lane.
What on earth is the "Bicycle Network" and how did a complete cock get to be its spokesperson?
The only fault to be laid at the door of the person that video this is that she didn't pepper spray the obviously drunk hooligans that shouldn't be let out of doors without a minder.
He's not talking about the woman who was doored; he's talking about the BMW contractor who suggested people dooring cyclists on purpose and posting the videos for laughs.
Ah. Apologies to the Bicycle Network and its spokeperson. That seems a lot more sane.
not sure if I can see indicator - think it is just brake lights on and off
I ride this route a couple of times a week - taxis normally drop passengers just the other side of the lights were the road widens and you can pass easily to the right. The "cycle refuge" (or refuse as in rubbish?) lane leads to an advanced stop box. If traffic is light I'll take the lane and move with it but with a long line of cars and cyclists behind would follow the herd to the ASL (with caution).
Moving to the right of the taxi would be unexpected and probably unsafe - the yellow line you can see in the video is a raised kerb to deter vehicles from crossing on to tram tracks and is very slippery, there is a concrete bollard/fence (tram stop) to right at point dooring occurred and you wouldn't want to get trapped against it
Some measure of concern and an apology would have fixed it.
BTW Dooring is a specific offence in Victoria
"Maybe Gerry Ryan of Jayco who backs Greenedge could use some of his clout and get businesses connected to his -including Orica to stop advertsing with rags like The Australian- that might change the tone of the editorials..."
If I was a cynic I could suggest that an arse licking enthusiasm for media spend possibly prompted the "menace" editorial and an opinion piece in another paper that suggested cyclists using helmet cams infringe privacy - it is possible that one of the people in the video has a business that spends a big big big lot of dollars on print and TV advertising - then again I'm not sure and I could be completely wrong and I wouldn't like to question press ethics
It was very sad that The Australian chose to run the editorial in a week which started with 6 cyclists being hit from behind by a car in Sydney, 5 were seriously injured.
Looking at video it does seem like the taxi indicated to pull over with that myself I'd of overtaken on the right.
But honestly she didn't do the wrong action,
If doored someone I'd be a total gentleman about it rather than a arrogant..,..
Point is you look before opening doors.
Seems they making a big deal out of nothing, a simple sorry could of fixed at the start.
This can't be in Melbourne. According to the last oz thread, everyone's nicer over there because helmets are compulsory and we should seek to emulate them...
Remind me to to give such an awful-looking place my tourist money.
Want to stop 'dooring'? It's really simple.
1) Car drivers have insurance.
2) Make car drivers wholly responsible for the behaviour and actions of their passengers. This includes their actions and behaviour during access and egress as well as when they are being conveyed in the vehicle.
I commend the idea to the house!
I imagine that they did have fully functioning necks, eyes and brains, if not, the driver should have made sure that they had a safe exit.
Not hard, is it?
Damn, beat me to it!
I doubt the passenger in the taxi could see if the cyclist was coming, they don't have external rear view mirrors on the back door.
As (ostensibly) a human being, the guy is presumably possessed of a posable torso and head, and eyes which can be moved within their sockets.
But those moving parts need to be connected to a brain. You see where it went wrong...?
Well - I guess it shows the polarisation of opinions. I've been cycling in Girona, which is very bike-friendly, of course - but watched wannabee-racers ride much too quickly through pedestrian areas (like the narrow bridges). At least it looked too fast to me, what with small children and older folks and all. "Share" means "share" - not monopolise.
I also had an experience in NYC - which has similar crazy bike lanes in places where there is a narrow lane between the parked cars and the travel lanes. So you can get doored from TWO directions. I managed to navigate Manhattan unscathed (much better than London IMHO) but there has to be some common sense - it's very difficult for the rear passengers in a vehicle to see along the side. If I saw a cab stopped in such a location, I would assume a door was going to open
Maybe Gerry Ryan of Jayco who backs Greenedge could use some of his clout and get businesses connected to his -including Orica to stop advertsing with rags like The Australian- that might change the tone of the editorials...
Australians are funny
I got doored on Saturday.
My knee still hurts.
Well, it certainly looks like chivalry is dead!
Indeed! The most striking feature of the vid is the callous indifference of the ugly men in suits to the young woman they left sprawling in the gutter.
Easily explainable, they were obviously in "shock". As the newspaper editorial pointed out, they were lucky to have escaped serious injury....
Personally I don't go up the inside of anything; that's my choice of course. What I found really offensive was that neither the passengers or the driver gave a damn that this cyclist had been doored. The rights and wrongs of who is to blame are fairly irrelevant; the fact they don't care about the condition of the injured party sums up the attitude that many seem to have to their fellow man/woman. Very sad really.
There may be an argument to say the driver should have kept the door locks on until he was 100% sure there wasn't any bikes approaching, but I don't think it's particularly fair to blame or even involve the passenger. The fault here lies squarely with the planners of the cycle lane - it's obviously been designed without any consideration for this inevitability.
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