Cyclist Suffered Injuries After Hitting Car Door in Portsmouth

I love driving along the coast in New Hampshire and Maine. I especially love taking a drive up to the Nubble Lighthouse, and I wish I could enjoy the view on a bike, but I’m a big guy and I don’t think I could do it.

I always take extra care since I see so many out for that bike ride that I will probably never take. On July 26, cyclist Dave O’Neill suffered injuries after being “doored,” according to seacoastonline.com.

Dave O’Neill is no amateur as he has bicycled across the country and can routinely bike 150 miles in a day, the article stated.

Being “doored” is when a cyclist runs into an open car door, according to seacoastonline.com, and in this case, the car was parked illegally.

Ideally, the bike lanes are designed to prevent such an occurrence from happening.

In fact, there used to be bollards in the location where O’Neill’s accident occurred, but since the bollards had been removed, cars began illegally parking and it was an accident just waiting to happen, according to seacoastonline.com.

If an accident like this can happen on a bike lane to such an experienced cyclist, it calls for a review.

The Parking and Traffic Safety Committee debated the issue and is calling for more information from the city before they revisit the bike lane topic in September, according to reporting from seacoastonline.com, which also noted that Committee member Mary Lou McElwain said she had witnessed some “close calls” with doors opening on the drivers’ sides of vehicles.

The outdoors in New England should be safely enjoyed by all.

Thankfully Dave will recover from his injuries, but sadly his bike will not. Take extra care when opening your car door.