A lot of bad things can happen to a bike rider in New York City. A car can make an unexpected right turn, cutting the biker off; two motor vehicles can squeeze together with a bike in between; a rider can even get roughed up by another biker who blows past without a warning shout of "On your left!"
But the danger bikers fear most is the sudden opening of a parked car's driver-side door. The door stops the bike abruptly, throwing the rider over the handlebars and into the moving traffic. The law calls this "unsafely exiting a vehicle," but among cyclists it's just known as "dooring."
This is exactly what happened to two cyclists recently in separate bicycle accidents-both with fatal results. Marcus Ewing, 27, was killed one morning in Harlem when a car owner flung open his door and catapulted Ewing under the wheels of a meat truck. And in Brooklyn, Jasmine Herron was likewise hurtled into an oncoming bus near Atlantic and Washington avenues.
New York's "Dooring" Law
Motorists bear responsibility for the safety of bicyclists. Section 1214 of the State Vehicle and Traffic Law:
"No person shall open the door of a motor vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless and until it is reasonably safe to do so, and can be done without interfering with the movement of other traffic, nor shall any person leave a door open on the side of a vehicle available to moving traffic for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers."
The City of New York does not keep a tally of dooring accidents, but state officials reported issuing 207 citations for the offense in 2008, and 179 in 2009. The relatively small totals do not account for many other near misses and unreported accidents. Noah S. Budnick, deputy director of a nonprofit pedestrian and bicycle transportation group, says dooring has "always been a top complaint and, anecdotally, a major contributing factor to crashes in New York City."
If you are involved in a car-bicycle accident, a Bronx personal injury attorney experienced in bicycle collisions can help you evaluate your rights and responsibilities under the law.
![[picture of] Daniel A. Kalish](/design/images/attorneyPic.jpg)
