MA DOT Press Release: Dutch Reach in Driver’s Manual; Road Sharing

According to the City of Boston’s 2012 Boston Cyclist Safety Report, the Boston Police Department responded to 202 bicycle collisions between 2009 and 2012 involving open car doors, informally referred to as “doorings,” and 123 (approximately 60 percent) of these required response from Boston Emergency Medical Services.  These types of collisions are also frequently known to damage the doors of the automobiles involved. 

Also outlined in the updated Driver’s Manual are clear instructions for driving on roads with separated bicycle lanes, which demarcate which part of the road is for bicyclists and which part is for motorized traffic.  A key part of MassDOT’s initiative to build and advocate for more “Complete Streets,” which take into account the needs of motorists, transit users, bicyclists, pedestrians and people with disabilities, separated bicycle lanes have become more common in municipalities like Boston, Cambridge, Somerville and can be found elsewhere in the state.  The new language pertaining to separated bicycle lanes stipulates that they are not intended for pedestrians, that “[at] intersections, drivers must stop at the line to allow pedestrians and bicyclists to cross safely.  When turning right, drivers must yield to pedestrians and bicyclists who are crossing.”  The added text also mandates that bicyclists ride in the proper direction of travel in separated bicycle lanes and must yield to pedestrians.

The updated Driver’s Manual also outlines proper procedures for bicyclists and motorists travelling through intersections that contain bicycle boxes.  Similar in concept to separated bicycle lanes, bicycle boxes are installed at intersections to allow bicyclists a safe way to turn when approaching a red light.  Occupying the space in front of crosswalks, bicycle boxes are painted bright green and contain a large rendering of a bicyclist, which promotes visibility for motorists and bicyclists, even from a distance.   From the text of the updated Driver’s Manual:

“Bicyclists who are turning left should stop in the bicycle box, move to the left side of the box, signal the turn, and wait for the green light. Bicyclists traveling straight or turning right should stay to the right in the bicycle box, in a staggered formation, and wait for the green light.

Bicycle boxes can also be used by bicyclists to make a two-stage left turn. A two-stage left turn allows bicyclists to make a left turn in two separate steps, rather than crossing multiple lanes of traffic:

Step 1: Cross straight through the intersection on the green light and stop in the bicycle box for the road you are turning onto.

Step 2: Wait for the green light and go straight through the intersection.”

Drivers who encounter a bicycle box may not enter the bicycle box when the light is red, even when no cyclists occupy the box, and must yield to any bicyclists using the bicycle box before proceeding at a green light.  In Massachusetts, bicycle boxes are becoming more common, with some currently delineated at major intersections, such as Somerville Avenue and Medford Street in Somerville, Maffa Way and Cambridge Street in Charlestown, Binney Street and First Street in Cambridge and at Beacon Street and Webster Street in Brookline.

"This is an important safety measure for everyone -- not just bicyclists," said Dr. Michael Charney, founder of the Dutch Reach Project. "The Dutch method protects all road users from heedless harm in the door zone. Teaching the Dutch Reach to student drivers -- and to all our children -- is the easiest way make this habit swap happen.  As the far hand method takes hold, hundreds of bike-car crashes and severe injuries will be prevented.  Lives will be spared by this simple move. Is it possible? The Dutch did it so so can we."  

Doorings account for 10 to 20% of  bicycle crashes in many cities across the globe.  Riding outside the door zone and putting in separated and protected bicycle lanes are necessary but not always feasible.  

But the root cause of dooring is driver and passenger error - made worse by our flawed near hand habit which blocks a good 'shoulder check.'  The Dutch Reach makes you swivel to look out and to the side. Then you can easily turn your head and look directly back before opening and while exiting: Reach, Turn, Look. Open slowly. If safe, exit facing traffic."

"Cycling is clearly on the rise in our dense cities.  But with miles of car parked streets, flung doors can be instant tragedy for cyclists."  A retired physician turned road safety advocate, Charney brought the decades old Dutch dooring solution to the attention of Mass. RMV's Director of Licensing Steve Evans after a young woman was doored and killed near his home in 2016.  

Charney coined the quirky name for this little known practice, and started the Dutch Reach Project to make it popular.  He hopes current drivers and passengers will make the switch too. "The DOT is already on to this. They've made a very sweet Dutch Reach teaching video, and are even tweeting to get folks to use it."

“It’s simple, it’s obvious, and it costs nothing. Just swap one thoughtless habit to another thoughtless habit — but the second one is much safer.”