Bike Accident Lawyers Blog
Dooring Accidents in Boston
A dooring accident (not really an accident in the legal sense) occurs when a person inside a vehicle opens his or her door into the path of oncoming traffic. This can include oncoming motorists, bicycle riders and even pedestrians, though pedestrians are not usually traveling fast enough on foot to suffer significant personal injury.
In Boston, and other parts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, dooring is not only negligent, but it is also something for which a person can be issued a civil infraction in the amount of not more than $100 pursuant to Section 14 of Chapter 90 of the Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L.). In this section, the law clearly states no person shall open the door of a motor vehicle unless it is reasonably safe to do so without interfering with oncoming traffic, and the statute goes on to say this include bicyclists and pedestrians. This is the specific statute, which prohibits dooring a bike rider, and it was included as part of the legislatures efforts to improve bike safety in our area. Continue reading
As the name implies, dooring involves opening a car door into the path of an oncoming bicyclist. These accidents most often involve the driver’s door since it opens to the left, but it can also involve a rear passenger who is seated on the driver’s side of the vehicle. In some cases, we have seen passengers in taxi cabs or rides sharing vehicles open their doors into the path of an oncoming bicyclist, causing serious personal injury. 
As this point, you have basically two choices. The first choice is that you can swerve to avoid the door and possibly crash into another car and be seriously injured, or you can try to stop in time, but will likely end up crashing into the open door. None of these choices is a good option. But the occupant of the car didn’t give you any choice.