I’d like to
examine a new law, added by the state legislature, to the Rules of the Road in
Illinois. Lawmakers have mandated a new question on the Rules of the Road test to
insure motorists are apprised of “The Dutch Reach.”
Simply
explained---the Dutch Reach is when a motorist opens the car door with their
right hand. It is supposed to insure drivers are in a position to look over
their left shoulders and towards oncoming traffic. The goal? To stop something
called “doorings,” when a car door connects with a cyclist. Apparently this is
a problem in Chicago. There were 300 such incidents in 2015 alone.
It is
important to note that performing the Dutch Reach is not mandated by law. Rather, the law says we all need to be taught the practice. In other
words, Illinois drivers are advised to know all about the “Dutch Reach” in
their Rules of the Road test.
Here’s how I
see it. The practice might not be mandated but I guarantee personal injury
attorneys will use it to show negligence if one of their cyclist clients gets
their clocks cleaned by a “dooring.”
Anytime a
bicyclist gets injured from now on in Illinois, somebody with a law degree will
be establishing that the driver opened his or her door with their right
hand….and if they didn’t….or are unaware of the new law….there will be a case
made for their negligence.
I’m sorry a
few hundred Chicagoans got doored while sipping their iced eggnog latte
navigating Michigan Avenue traffic on their Urban Man Single Speed Beach
Cruiser.
But this is a back door way to give ambulance
chasing lawyers a payday.
No comments:
Post a Comment