Safe Speed Forums

There is a discussion on another forum about someone who opened the passenger door of a car in L3 of a fast A road during a traffic jam. Unfortunately the door opened onto a rider. The rider states that they were filtering at up to possibly between 20 and 30 mph. The rider was knocked off and sustained serious injuries.

My question is, would this accident have been prevented if the rider was filtering at a more appropriate speed past parked vehicles? I personally feel that filtering in such a small gap at anywhere near 30mph is asking for trouble.

What view do you all take on filtering?

I think I set a poll up on this a few months ago. Let me look....

Yes. Here it is. http://www.safespeed.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1413

Opening a door of a vehicle under ANY circumstances should only be done with all the caution required as this incident shows.
The motorcyclist could easily have been a TrafPol or Parramedic on their way to an accident ahead, so it is not unreasonable to expect a mtorcycle to be filtering past a traffic jam.

That said, I have filtered past standing traffic on my motorcycle on many occasions in my youth, and ALWAYS did so with the possibility of such an incident in my mind.
Filtering between lines of cars at traffic lights can be fraught with danger, as occasionally, Mrs Numpty will decide to exit the vehicle to shop while it is stationary in traffic, while hubby continues on his way (eventually) to park.

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

It wouldn't have mattered if the motorcyclist was doing 5mph, if someone is too brain dead to look over their shoulder before opening a door (regardless of where the vehicle is stopped) then sooner or later something is going to happen.


I've been doing it for 24 years and I'm still here and in one piece.

Sure I've had near misses, and even one or two incidents where the car driver has felt aggrieved to the point where they have taken a swing at me for having the audacity to point out that they may want to try looking before opening a door next time (a swift head butt while wearing a crash helmet drops them every time though, no matter how big they are).

When I am filtering, I am always mindful of the car door scenario (as well as the completely unannounced lane change) and am constantly watching both the road ahead & the the cars themselves for any signs that Mr (or Mrs) Brain Dead may be thinking that now is a good time to exit the vehicle or throw it in to another lane because a gap has appeared in that will mean they will be a whole 4ft further forward than what they were if they take it.

Having said all that, although a fair majority of car drivers seem to be half asleep where bikes are concerned, they wake up very quickly when I appear behind them thanks to a Harris zorst

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What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

An emphatic no. I was knocked off on the M3 earlier this year whilst filtering at 15 mph by a Smidsy Rep trying to gain a one cars distance advantage by a lane switch. I was adjacent to his front wing when he made the manouver.

I have court proceeedings initiated against him in a bid to challenge the archahic case law used by insurance companies to settle these accidents

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Former Military Police Officer and accident investigator

On a m/way or wide D/C with plenty of room then I don't see a problem with filtering at that speed. I've been known to ride at 15mph+ with only about a 3ft gap. Incidentally, who reported the rider's speed as 20-30mph? Could it have been the moron in the car who was trying to justify his negligence? It's notoriously difficult to judge the speed of a bike unless you can see the speedo...

If someone is stupid enough to open a door without looking first then they deserve to have the book thrown at them. What would have happened if the car was being passed by a wide load or a car or other vehicle that was too close? Filtering isn't an offence as far as I know (since I've filtered past police cars without a problem) so in theory drivers stuck in traffic should almost be EXPECTING to have a bike filter past.

I have to agree with Gixxer though, I'm always watghing like a hawk when I filter for any signs that I'm going to be SMIDSYd or even worse agressively blocked - I've had incidents on a bicycle where drivers have purposefully opened a door simply to hinder my progress, because they have a problem with the fact that a 'slower' vehicle was overtaking them...

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

on another forum one of them suggested that it was inconvenient for him to look in his mirrors all the time...

Now that is the sort of driver who I could cheerfully smack in the mouth and suffer no feelings of guilt over afterwards.

If that is truly how the poster thinks and it wasn't just a wind up, then he is the sort of muppet that the rest of us can do without.

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What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

If traffic is moving I filter at about 10mph faster thant the flow to help give me time to react if someone changes lanes without looking.

Police bikes filter all the time through traffic.

In stationary traffic I consider it to be the same as passing parked cars on a narrow street, you need to keep an eye out for the first sign of a door opening. There will always be a risk. In the US filtering is not alowed in most states. Truck drivers will open their doors deliberatly if they see a bike filtering...

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Speed camera policy Kills

Gloves with reinforced nuckles really are useful aren't they?!

Unfortunately, being a girl, I can't hit very hard!

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

You don't have to be able to hit hard at all Sixy

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What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

And they talk about road rage........

I thought the thread was IMPROVING road safety????????????

I must agree - I hope you're all joking!

The ones that get me are those who filter (if that's the right word. I call it mad riding) between lanes 2 and 3 where L2 might be doing 85 - 90 with few gaps and lane 3 contains the odd 3-figure-speed car.

I was hit while filtering to the front of a queue of traffic stopped at a red light. As I passed the third cars from the front at no more than 5-8mph the 14 year old front seat passenger in the car to my right opened the door, catching the handlebar and then my right arm, which took the brunt of the impact. I ended up with the bike at a 45-degree angle, wedged between 2 cars, with my left shoulder on the roof of the car in the inside lane. My left indicator gouged a furrow about 8 inches long in the front wing of the car in the inside lane as I came to a halt.

Trafpol attended and were very good. They told the driver of the car in the outside lane that
a. They should have expected to see bikes filtering
b. bikes have every right to filter
c. it was her responsibility to control her passengers so they don't injure other people
d. she should be charged with careless driving

I have permanent nerve damage in my right arm as a result of her carelessness. Apparently she wanted to turn right at the lights to take the kids in the back to primary school. The 14 year old's secondary school was left at the lights, so she let him out in the middle of the road every morning as it was easier than stopping by the pavement.

I still commute along that road every morning, and had a verbal altercation just last week with another idiot who thinks that the middle of the road is an appropriate place to let their kids get out of the car. I was filtering and had just reached the back of a large merc when the boot lid started to open. I braked. The front passenger door started to open but did not open fully. Clearly I wasn't going to ride past until they decided WTF they were doing, so I just sat there and waited to see what they decided to do. After 10-15 seconds a teenage boy got out, walked around the front of the car and back to the boot, took out his schoolbag and then walked through the queueing vehicles to the pavement. I gave the driver the universally understood "are you a nutter" signal

What did I get in return? Repeated horn blaring, some wild gesticulating and what appeared to be a torrent of verbal abuse. By this stage the traffic ahead had moved forward and there was a gap of about 4-5 car lengths between us and the cars ahead. I moved forward and out to the right hand side of the lane and signalled for the driver to come forward to have a discussion during the red phase. They did.

My side: Are you crazy? Why are you letting him out in the middle of the road?
Her: I saw you coming. I told him to watch out for you as you always come past in the morning. I told him not to open the door.
Me: That might be, but you shouldn't let him out in the middle of the road. What if I had hit him?
Her: It's too difficult to get into the inside lane. Anyway, lots of other people do it.
Me: Don't you even care about his safety enough to let him out on the pavement? He could have been seriously injured. Surely his life is worth more to you than the inconvenience of changing lane?

The next morning I saw her again. She was in the inside lane.

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Less Kodak, more Kojak.
In times of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

Am always careful when filtering. Ist not just the numpty who opens door without thinking (und in this situation - would veto passenger alighting into traffic und would press the ccnetral lock if they tried to defy. If am behind wheel - am boss und responsible for safety of those travelling in my company. So they would not be allowed to open door whilst am sat in L2/L3 jam on basis of their safety getting across traffic und collision witht the filtering biker or cyclist.

As biker I am aware of cyclists - can filter better on push bike than on motor bike und like Kriss - ahve a powerful one Liebchne Our Papa went ballistic when we went into debt as students to buy hottest set of wheels we could afford at time. Und we were both .... er .... well conering in the Alps was such fun but law say my responsibility on motorbike to avoid the cyclist Und you give them loads of room und allow precedence to their filtering. Und if any any doubt as to whether the filter ist safe - I hold back.

If in jam as well und filtering - the numpty ist always going to change lane und the problem here ist in the vision for off-side wing - especially if twit behind ist not aware of tramac und tyres gap. You have to be aware that biker will take advantage of his narrower transport und filtering ist legal in this situation


So drivers - if you cannot see - you stay put und maximise your space for best view as best you can before you change from L3 jam to slightly faster moving L2/L1 - but ist swing und roundabout. Each lane moves und then stops und sometimes you are better off staying put as inner lane halts und outer lane start to move a bit.

But really we all seem to come back to C O A S T as the real safety message

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Nicht ganz im Lot!
Ich setze mich immer wieder in die Nesseln! Der Mad Doc ist mein Mann! Und ich benutzte seinen PC!

UND OUR SMILEYS? Smile ... und the the world smiles with you.
Smiley guy seen when you read
Fine me for Safe Speed
(& other good causes..)

Greatest love & Greatest Achievements Require Greatest Risk
But if you lose the driving plan - don't lose the COAST lesson.
Me?
Je ne regrette rien!

Isn't there an offence of opening a car door into danger?

Something like section 102 ?????????

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Semper in excreta, nur quantitat variat.

Nicely editted

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

Or even worse between L2 and L3 when both contain a stream of cars at sub-2 second intervals doing 75-80 mph.

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

From our friends over at uk.rec.cycling
Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986
Regulation 105,

No person shall open, or cause or permit to be opened, any door of a
vehicle on a road so as to injure or endanger any person.

Road Traffic Act 1988
Section 42

A person who ... contravenes or fails to comply with any construction or
use requirement ... is guilty of an offence.

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Less Kodak, more Kojak.
In times of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.