Street Code – Safe Road Sharing Pamphlet

"Street Code: Rules and Etiquette for Getting There Together"

The City of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA issued a simple but finely executed and edited 20 page stapled pamphlet on safe road rules and road sharing for drivers, cyclists, pedestrians and and transit users.  It is an example of what a local government can do to educate and retrain road users in the use of Best Safety Practices, such as the Dutch Reach which is a key teaching point for drivers in the section on dooring.

Cambridge's Street Code is also published on the City of Cambridge website as a PDF.  An explanation of its purpose, organization and basic principles and its role in achieving Vision Zero Cambridge, may be found here.  It was a multi-departmental project by the City, involving Traffic and Parking, Cambridge Police, Community Development and Public Works departments, and was released on 12/21/16.

The Dutch Reach far hand method to avoid dooring cyclists is described on pages 8 & 9 by word and diagram.

To reduce risk, be alert, and use the Dutch Reach to keep cyclists from getting doored.

Cambridge "Street Code" (p. 8).

Instructions to driver to check rear & side mirrors, then use far hand Dutch Reach to swivel and look back to look for on-coming traffic. In right hand column, bike lane & door zones are defined.

Dooring prevention & avoidance illustration from "Cambridge Street Code: Rules and Etiquette for Getting There Together", p. 9. City of Cambridge, MA, USA, (2016).

Diagram depicts vehicle driver turned, far hand on car door - allowing line of sight to see on-coming cyclist and avoid doorings.

Illustration of the use of the far hand method - the Dutch Reach - which causes drivers to swivel and see on-coming cyclists before fully opening door to exit.  From "Street Code" (p. 8) by City of Cambridge, MA.