Local City/Town Actions

SAMPLE LOCAL GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

Here are suggestions for municipal officials or local activists when seeking to promote the Dutch Reach method. Also, a detailed list of individual & local actions is found at Home > Help??:  A Call to Far Arms

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Teach the Reach in Bike Maps

the map because it includes a wealth of useful — and potentially lifesaving — information for residents, whether they’re on a bike or in a car or truck. Last year the state of Illinois passed legislation requiring the “Dutch Reach” anti-dooring technique to be included in the state driver curriculum. CDOT followed suit by illustrating the technique on the new map.

Map includes Dutch Reach advisory for motorists  New City Bike Map Includes Upcoming Greenways, Safety Tips for Motorists, by John Greenfield, June 7, 2019. See Chicago's 2019 Bike Map as pdf here.

NYC DOT TWEETS REACH

Click image to enlarge.

City of London, UK: Cabs to Reach 'Dutch'

We will look to advertise the ‘Dutch Reach’ approach, using the far hand when opening doors, which makes looking behind natural. We will reinforce the message through collaboration with the taxi driver groups and articles in taxi driver magazines.

Road Danger Reduction and Active Travel Plan, 2018-2023, [pdf] City of London Corporation, UK, includes Dutch Reach training for hackney carriage drivers & passengers (p. 47) to help achieve London Vision Zero. City will also work with major ride-share companies Addison Lee, Green Tomato & Uber to teach the 'reach'.  Related road.cc coverage of Plan here.

NYC DOT 'Twist' Campaign - Press Release

New York City DOT Twist PSA

Cities in Germany have embraced the 'Reach' aka der Hollandische Griff (Dutch Handle)

„Dreh‘ Dich um!“ - Frankfurt .de

Präventionskampagne „Parken, umdrehen, Leben retten!“:  City of Frankfurt am Main municpal bus with dooring prevention campaign poster promotes the Dutch Reach to "Turn Around".

Stadt Berlin de

Dutch Reach Campaign by German Police

"Um das Risiko eines Dooring-Unfalls zu minimieren, sollten Auto- und Beifahrer beim Aussteigen den so genannten "Holländischen Griff" anwenden." -
Polizei Nordrhein Westfalen, Münster .de. 01 Sept 2022.

Police across Germany now regularly cite the 'Dutch grip' [Holländischen Griff ] in press notices following dooring incidents.  See example here.

"Hamburg Pays Attention"

Holländische Griff Street Art, Radiospot & Video - Stuttgart

Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Transport uses street event to teach der holländische Griff. Part of new road safety campaign to reduce traffic"accidents" when motor vehicles are stopped or illegally parked. Ministry's Dutch reach website, video & radio spot here.

Stuttgart Police, Baden-Württemberg de

Miteinander läufts besser! Be better with each other! Polizei, Baden-Württemberg de. #ept 2019

Polizei Berlin Facebook post on the Dutch Reach method, a grip which can save cyhclists' lives from dooring injury & death.

Dutch Reach - Ein Griff, der Leben rettet

Cambridge Street Code teaches the Dutch Reach. Click image; see page 9. Doors are Dangerous. Avoid dooring by staying outside the Door Zone. Dirvers use your far hand to exit more safetly.

Cambridge Street Code teaches the Dutch Reach. Click her for pdf; see page 9.

Cambridge, MA, USA

Cambridge, Massachusetts may be the first U.S. city to officially advise all its drivers to use the far-hand reach method when exiting motor vehicles.  

In December 2016 the city issued a guide to promote safe road sharing, addressing drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and transit users.  "Street Code - Rules and Etiquette for Getting There Together," is part of Vision Zero Cambridge.  Two pages of text and diagrams are devoted to dooring prevention for drivers and cyclists, and includes the formerly anonymous Dutch technique. (pp. 8 & 9). The guide is the product of a collaboration among four city departments - Police, Traffic & Parking, Community Development, and Public Works.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto City Council is now pressing for municipal actions to reduce doorings - after more than a decade of cyclist outrage and many riders heedlessly killed or injured. Recommendations include teaching the Dutch Reach - see text of the motion at right. View media coverage here.

CityNews Toronto video of Dooring crisis that City Council must address. Demonstration of Dutch Reach anti dooring motion done with a car door during Council meeting.

Click to view in-depth video on Toronto's dooring crisis & Nov. 29, 2017 Public Works Committee meeting.

Toronto Board of Health Dooring Reduction Motion

PW25.13 Motion to Reduce the Number of “Doorings” in Toronto submitted by Toronto Board of Health for Public Works Committee hearing 29 Nov. 2017.

Click image for motion PW25.13 - Referred to staff, 29 Nov. 2017.

NYC DOT Reach Across to Prevent Dooring

Washington D.C., USA

On Oct 27, 2017, District of Columbia DDOT announced #DCReach  a November-long anti- car dooring campaign to promote the Dutch Reach. High crash incident streets will be targeted for intensive retraining of motorists when parking. Social media outreach will be emphasized using hashtag #DCReach.

Washington DC Govermment Logo

Vision Zero District of Columbia, Washington D.C. Dutch Reach graphic: Reach with the Right to Save a Life, with illustration of a child looking back swiveled, over his shoulder to view on-coming cyclist before opening car door, thus avoiding injury to the cyclist or himself or herself.

Washington D.C. "dcReach" graphic. Part of D.C.'s anti-dooring educational campaign in 2017.

DUBLIN FIRE BRIGADE, IRELAND

Burbank, CA Police Dept. Teaches Reach after Dooring Fatality

Drivers & passengers should use the Dutch Reach technique of opening vehicle doors when exit cars, trucks, vans, taxis, uber to prevent, avoid & reduce motor vehicle, motor cycles and bicycle collisions, injuries, & deaths involving bicyclists on our roadways.

Keeping Cyclists Safe with the Dutch Reach. To prevent dooring cyclists, City of Burbank Police Dept., CA, is promoting the Dutch Reach technique. with an original Infographic (view & download as pdf here). Dutch Reach Project has adapted BPD's design (above). Click image to enlarge.

Albany, New York State, USA

Albany New York State's Police Dept with NY Bicycle Coalition made this Sharing the Road safety training wideo for police & motorists. The Dutch Reach is explained in the section on Dooring violations.

Albany Police Dept's Road Sharing video teaches the Dutch Reach. [@ 2"15"']