Yeah its called Dutch Reach... I normally just open the door a crack with my left, then hold it to with my right ready to go whilst turning to look, if theres nothing much coming and I can quickly exit (I don't drive so I am always the front passenger )

Glad to hear you're in one piece Greyerbeard!

I would imagine the left hand is so you twist your body and can have a look mirrors may not show everything.

Greyerbeard wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 12:42 pm

horobags wrote: Sun Oct 31, 2021 4:25 pm

I hope they got a good bollocking.

Well...he was a fairly frail old bloke; pretty shocked and covered in broken glass from his door window...aggression wouldn't have helped, really!
Police and his insurance will deal with him; he's admitted full liability.

Just be careful with his insurers.

They have been known to contest liability in the most ridiculous circumstances.

capitano wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 7:58 am

Just be careful with his insurers.

They have been known to contest liability in the most ridiculous circumstances.

Was kind of expecting that, but I'm pleased to say...so far they've been a delight to deal with. Contacted me as soon as possible to tell me he'd admitted full liability; have already arranged to have the bike transported to my chosen dealer for evaluation; buying me a new helmet; offering physio etc. etc.
Will name names when it's all over and settled!

Dutch Reach:

https://www.rospa.com/road-safety/advic ... utch-reach

The 'Dutch Reach' is a completely different thing in the red light area, allegedly.

A “reacharound” is a term I would never use

Waldorf wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 9:31 am Dutch Reach:

https://www.rospa.com/road-safety/advic ... utch-reach

Not overly convinced (without trying it!). From that diagram, you seem to get a fairly limited view - you may spot a cyclist almost on top of you, but would you be able to see far enough back to see Greyerbeard barreling along on his Forza at 30mph? One snag with modern cars is that visibility out of the rear three-quarter is very limited, with small, high set rear windows. Even in my tiny Suzuki Swift, visibility when reversing is incredibly lacking, and many crossover-type cars are even worse. The only really functioning rear visibility you have in a car is in the door mirrors, which in many cases have an in-built bit at the far end to give you a wider angle of view . So until I can be convinced that Dutch Reach is superior, I'm going to stick to staring intently into my mirror before I get out. Assuming I remember, of course........

Always good when they own up to their fault. It restores your faith in humanity, despite the horror of the accident...

scootabout wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 11:52 pm Always good when they own up to their fault. It restores your faith in humanity, despite the horror of the accident...

So far...both he and his insurance company have been excellent; as were the police. Given some of the horror stories you hear, I've been well impressed.