Collisions between cyclists and car’s door
For this study, the in-depth database of the German Insurers (UDB) was used. The analyzed datapool contains 416 bicyclist-car accidents. Data shows the need to address the front impact for bicyclists (59 percent).
But there are other noticeable problems like the side impact. In 37 percent of all bicyclist-car accidents the impact occurred on the side of the car, only 4 percent were rear impacts. Noticeable is that in 18 percent of the side cases the bicyclist got hit by the door of the car during door opening. These accounted for around 7 percent of all collisions between cyclists and cars in which the impact location on the car is known. When we look more closely at these cases in which the cyclist collided with the driver’s door, it is noteworthy that in around 80 percent the cyclist was riding on the road and attempting to pass the parked vehicle. In most cases in the material studied, there were no separate cycling facilities at the accident location. There are already technical solutions available on the market for the door-opening scenario. These warn the driver when vehicles or cyclists are approaching. For self-protection reasons it is advisable for cyclists to wear helmets.