Are Doorings Really an Accident?

By Bob Mionske
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Police quickly absolved the driver of any blame, noting that the car was “legally parked,” and the cyclist was not wearing a helmet.
Oh. I see.
But what about Section 430 of the Highway Safety Code, which prohibits the driver from opening his car door “without ascertaining that he can perform this maneuver safely”? Why are Montreal Police commenting on the legality of the driver’s parking job, when the only relevant legal issue is whether the driver observed his duty to safely open his car door?
For that matter, why did Montreal Police point out the cyclist’s lack of a helmet? Are they suggesting that a helmet would have prevented the collision?
Well, probably not. But they are probably implying that a helmet would have prevented the cyclist’s injuries—and that is an implication that is not supported by any evidence in this collision.
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It was because the dooring was “an accident.”
Get it? If the driver had intentionally attacked the cyclist with his car door, that might be a different matter. But this was no brutal assault. It was just an accident.
You still don’t get it? Neither do I.
No, actually, it’s the Montreal Police who don’t get it. There’s nothing in the Highway Safety Code requiring drivers to “intentionally” break the law before they can be charged with a violation. If you’re speeding, you can be charged with speeding, whether you knew you were speeding or not. If you fail to stop at a stop sign, you can be charged with failure to stop, whether you saw the sign or not.
And if you open your car door and hit a cyclist, it doesn’t matter whether you intended to hit the cyclist, or just accidentally did it. Either way, you broke the law.
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So it appears that the driver will be cited now, and will be required to pay a fine. A $30 fine.
I guess that’s something. But the cyclist, who was initially reported to be dead, is still in critical condition, still fighting for his life. Somehow, $30 just doesn’t seem to reflect that fact. I know it’s an improvement over the “it was just an accident” shrug of the shoulders we originally had from the police, but is that the best we can do when somebody is killed, or nearly so? $30?
Shouldn’t $30 be the kind of fine you get when you almost door somebody? When you kill, or almost kill somebody through your own carelessness, shouldn’t the penalty reflect that fact?
The confusion here about “accidents” isn’t just within the ranks of law enforcement. The legislatures themselves shoulder most of the blame for this confusion, because ultimately, they are the ones sending the message to drivers that “accidents” will not be taken seriously, no matter how serious the injuries the careless driver inflicts.
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https://bicycling.com/blogs/roadrights/2011/05/13/are-doorings-really-an-accident/oldId.20110513171748499