PiledHigher wrote:
"Theo Bekkers" wrote:

How about we go back to "suicide" doors, front doors hinged at the
centre pillar, rear doors hinged at the rear. They make it much
easier to get in and out of the vehicle and would deflect a bike
rider rather than give them an edge to run in to. They will need a
locking mechanism to prevent the doors being opened whilst the
vehicle is in motion, but that is not difficult. A lot of cars now
auto-lock the doors when they reach a predetermined speed. All
Mercedes cars now lock the doors at 15 km/h.

The problem with deflection is that the average death in this
situation is caused by the rider being run over by a following car
while on the ground. This wasn't the case here but most often is.
Someone else has said it, aim for the door opener, don't swerve
outward.

In the scenario wasn't it the passenger who opened the door, and would they
not be alighting from the kerb lane? A deflection would put the rider on the
footpath. Isn't this scenario more likely than the driver getting out of the
car or a passenger getting out from a car not in the kerb-side lane. I think
it would be against most people's natural reaction to steer into the
obstruction.

Theo