New highway code rule.

I have just noticed this new highway code rule in the news, and appologise now if it was mentioned recently in the forum.

**LINK**

Useful link but misleading, I think.

The headline suggests a £1000 fine for using the" wrong hand" to open the door. But the extract from the Code only encourages use of the opposite hand and advises that one may be fined up to £!000 if one injures someone by opening the door.

Rod

Edited By Rod Renshaw on 22/01/2022 20:45:33

The picture is a poor example, as the cyclist is approaching the door from the easily seen direction. I always use both hands, as I have arthritis and cannot hold the door with one hand.

April 1st comes early !!!

H

Exited as soon as the Yahoo logo appeared.

regards

Perhaps the code should be extended to "Do not open doors on windy days", Vehicle construction act :- perhaps "All cars after 2024 to have flashing lights fitted to them", Bicycles to have frontal airbags, the list could go on.

In the end, cars are too comfortable and some drivers do not pay attention to the world about them. Some cyclists storm around town without due care.

Its time to go back out to the shed.

Bob

I'd like to know why the cyclist in the photo is riding on the footpath!

Most people have come to accept that as the norm, I for one don’t.

If you open a door in front of a cyclist (or any other person), what difference does it make what hand you use? Another example of useless rule making.

The point is that using the opposite hand is much more likely to make the driver look back. It is a very good practice.

Seems like the 'footpath' is now the norm for cyclists & E-scooters.

Tony

I sort of get the idea behind the "Dutch reach", but as has been said, the example doesn't illustrate it at all, especially when the cyclist (an adult at that) is on the footpath. I'm not sure of the exact wording in the Highway Code, but no one is allowed to ride a bike on a footway unless it is specifically designated for cyclists. Such as, shared and divided paths.

Over here, we are allowed to share the path with cyclists/shooters/scateboards ect as long as we dont get in their way or slow them down too much.

I do my best, but I always seem to get my walking aid in the way. Silly me !

Yes - why not look in the mirror and use which hand is most convenient? Then you'll probably see cyclists approaching in either direction.

Doesn't work in the photo does it. Driver looking behind, cyclist approaching from front!

There's lots more stuff on cyclists in the new issue - trying to get my head around the "he who is going straight on has the right of way" rule.

Edited By Anthony Kendall on 23/01/2022 10:43:06

I always understood that the idea behind this was to reduce the risk of drivers, in particular, opening their door in the path of a cyclist coming up behind. In which case it is a laudable aim. But, I would ask, what about that item, usually attached to the door which comprises a highly reflective surface, commonly called a mirror? Shouldn't the aim be to train drivers to use that device?

And what about drivers with mobility problems? I for one suffer from a problem which restricts my ability to twist which means that attempting to open a right-hand drivers door with my left hand is extremely difficult. (And yes, before anyone asks the obvious question, I do use an additional mirror for that offside blind spot.)

Now about the nearside. Who is going to be responsible if a passenger opens a door as a cyclist is passing on that side? The driver? After all, the driver is not responsible if a passenger over the age of 14 refuses to wear a seatbelt, so why should the driver accept any responsibility for adult passengers?

In a similar manner, who is responsible if a rear seat passenger opens the offside door? Are we to find that registered keepers/owners/drivers become responsible for naming passengers in the event of an accident caused by a less than careful passenger? Eg as already exists for some motoring offences.

I wonder, as well, if the car owner would have any recourse to gaining funds from a cyclist for repairs to the vehicle if it could be shown that the cyclist took no steps to announce his/her presence, eg using a bell etc.

I see so many problems arising.

Peter G. Shaw

p.s. As a matter of interest, and triggered by the Yahoo picture, I wonder what the legal situation would be if a pedestrian, legally walking on the pavement, accidently or otherwise, managed to knock a cyclist off their bicycle when said cyclist is illegally cycling on a pavement.

I would hazard a guess that the cyclist would be to blame, as they shouldn't be there in the first place, and if the pedestrian was injured, the cyclist would be liable to pay compensation, plus a £50 "on the spot" fine for riding on the footpath.

If a cyclist gets hit by a car door they must be natural born stupid, if they cycle close enough for a door to to hit them then it should not be a surprise when it eventually happens.

Mike

I am afraid this is all academic, under The Motor Vehicles construction and use regulations it is an offence to open the door to the danger of others. If you open the door of a motor vehicle and damage or injury is caused to another then it is down to you, no arguments.

Makes me think a new series of Interesting Cases could be based on the Highway Code. Members of a certain age will probably recall the series.

I wrote to the Chief constable of my local police force asking him how many cyclists have been fined for riding on the pavement or footpath, or without lights. No reply as yet.

If a car door is opened and a cyclist without lights riding after dusk hits the car, who is to blame? In our area street lights are now LED and provide little illumination apart from under a lamppost.

Motorists will now have to give way to pedestrians intending to cross a road that you are turning into and don't forget to look out for cyclists on your near side as well as cyclists on the pavement about to shoot across the junction. All makes sense if everyone sticks to the rules but that will never happen.

I have invested in a front and rear view dash cam.

Have just returned home. At a nearby traffic lights, as they changed from red, a cyclist swept past me on the off side passed the car in front and then cut in front of that car. If the front car had been heavy footed when the lights changed, one splatted cyclist!!