Thursday Afternoon Commute - If I hit a young skateboarder with my car door, well...she had it coming

Good afternoon

• Fairfax Senator discusses the dooring bill. But Sen. Frank "Get off my lawn" Wagner (R-Virginia Beach) adds "He said he owns a house in Richmond near Virginia Commonwealth University, where young cyclists and skateboarders "come out of nowhere" _ particularly at night _ and whiz past cars parallel-parked on the street. 'To say because I open the door and some idiot runs into it and I'm at fault and I could be sued _ I've got huge problems with this bill,' Wagner said."
• This article on how every method of getting the Mall for the inauguration has drawbacks doesn't mention what the drawbacks are to biking. Maybe they're self-evident
• The same Virginia panel that moved the dooring law out of committee rejected legislation to relax Virginia's reckless driving-speeding law.  You may recall that there was some controversy over this because drivers were loosing their license after going 10 mph over the speed limit. 
• Likely new White House Chief of Staff doesn't bike commute so much anymore because of scrapes with drivers, but he might have fewer if he got off the phone. 
• Halsey steals my story idea (I have a draft half finished). The inauguration will show off DC's new bike facilities "We are very proud that the nation will get to see why D.C. is now regarded as one of the most bicycle friendly cities in the nation,” said Terry Bellamy, director of the District Department of Transportation.

Comments

[Jim Titus]

Does Sen. Wagner have a law degree? The hypothetical skateboarder is contributorily negligent anyway if traveling at night without lights--or even in the day along through streets where skates and skateboards are illegal.

[oboe]

Doesn't matter if they have lights or not. They're whizzing, WHIZZING I SAY, past my parked car! What on earth am I supposed to do? Look over my shoulder before opening my door!?! What if my house is on fire, or I see my wife being mugged on the sidewalk!?!

[Jim Titus]

The fireman and police officer should pay for the damage to your car door.

[david]

I twice I have seen people have there car door hit and ruined after opening it on the traffic side with out looking. No one occasion a bus and the other a car. Hopefully the Sen. will have his door smacked off by a truck or bus that might teach him to look first. DCMR sec. 2214.4 "No person shall open a door of a vehicle on the side where traffic is approaching unless it can be done without interfering with moving traffic or pedestrians and with safety to himself or herself and passengers" .

[PghSteve]

Wish I lived in Mr. Wagner's district so I could vote for ABW (Anybody But Wagner)

[contrarian]

"come out of nowhere" == I am inattentive.

[david]

@Titus DCMR sec. 2214.4 "No person shall open a door of a vehicle on the side where traffic is approaching unless it can be done without interfering with moving traffic or pedestrians and with safety to himself or herself and passengers" . This is DC law. Contributory negligence does not apply in DC as the law states who has responsibility in such cases.

[Jim T]

@David: what is your basis for saying that a regulation's allocation of responsibility takes away the defense of contributory negligence?

[david]

The basis is DC law. The itself law assigns responsibility to the driver. To assign responsibility to the motorist is clearly why the law was written. Further many countries in Europe the responsibility for any "accident" between car and bike the motorist is assumed to be a fault.

[Jim T]

@david: you did not answer my question. Perhaps you are confusing contributory negligence with negligence per se. The fact that a defendant broke a law does
not by itself mean that the plaintiff does not have a duty to be prepared. That is, breaking the law makes driver negligent but it does not make the skater not negligent, especially in Va and DC where such skating is illegal on many streets.