(Québec) More than two years after the death of a Montreal cyclist victim of dooring, the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) has finally decided to apply a very simple recommendation from the coroner and will teach new drivers opening the door “Dutch style”.
The Press revealed in June 2022 that the SAAQ was slow to adopt the extremely simple recommendation of coroner Geneviève Thériault. The organization pressed the accelerator in the wake of the article.
“Opening the door using the pivot technique has been integrated into the content of the Road Safety Education Program (PESR), as well as into the various reference guides used by students and trainers”, confirms a SAAQ spokesperson, Anne Marie Dussault Turcotte.
The pivot opening, or Dutch door, simply involves opening the door with the opposite hand. For a driver, it is a question of opening the door with the right hand. The simple twist of the bust then directs the motorist’s gaze towards the rear-view mirror, which increases his chances of seeing a bicycle appear.
IMAGE FROM THE VÉLO QUÉBEC WEBSITE
The pivot opening, or Dutch door, simply involves opening the door with the opposite hand.
“Our manuals have all been updated, we have added doorwork, pillars, blind spots” as well as the pivot opening technique, confirms the director general of the Association of Driving Schools of Quebec, Marc Thompson. “It is also taught in theoretical online training and in practical training. »
a plague
The arrival of the “Dutch door” in Quebec is a delight to Vélo Québec, which points out that dooring is a scourge. Every week in Montreal, the Montreal Police Service counts an average of three doorings. “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” warns Magali Bebronne, program director at Vélo Québec.
The article was an electric shock for the SAAQ. In the days that followed, we received confirmation that the technique was going to be added to the training program.
Magali Bebronne, program director at Vélo Québec
She now hopes that this simple technique will be integrated by motorists, that it will become automatic like putting on your seatbelt.
However, Vélo Québec points out that a set of measures must be put in place to reduce dooring, in particular better facilities. “This is the reason why cycle lanes must be stopped next to parked cars,” notes Magali Bebronne, who also invites cyclists to ride at least one meter from parked cars.
A report without follow-up for a year
The coroner had looked into the death of Jean-Pierre Lefebvre. The 63-year-old cyclist was riding his bicycle on July 6, 2020. A motorist who had not seen him opened his door on the cyclist, who fell and then hit his head on the ground. He died on arrival at the hospital.
In her report, coroner Geneviève Thériault notably recommended teaching new motorists in Quebec to open their doors with their opposite hand – “Dutch style” – which could save lives.
“My research has enabled me to learn that to avoid dooring, motorists are advised to carefully check their blind spot, look in their rearview mirror and open the door with the hand opposite the door ( in this way the driver must turn on his axis, which facilitates the verification of the blind spot) ”, wrote Me Theriault.
Coroner Thériault’s report was published in the summer of 2021. It remained unanswered for a year. The SAAQ had still not started thinking about teaching this technique to new drivers when the article was published. The Press in June 2022. The reflection then seemed to be done very quickly.