B.C. quadruples fine for 'dooring' cyclists

The fine in British Columbia for hitting a cyclist with the door of a parked car, otherwise known as "dooring,"has increasedto $368 from $81.

Effective Monday, anyone opening the door of a parked car when it's not reasonably safe to do so could receive a fine.

The province said it implemented the increase to help reduce cycling collisions.

"Dooring can kill or severely injure a person. Making the offence of dooring equivalent to distracted driving and excessive speeding offences in terms of the fine is another necessary step to help keep our most vulnerable road users safe," said Vancouver-West End MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert, following the initial announcement.

Advocacy groupHUB Cycling says the change is a positive step forward, but calls for more action.

"We must continue to make our roads safer not just by imposing harsher fines, but rather by building safer infrastructure that is comfortable for people of all ages and abilities," said Navdeep Chhina, acting executive director of HUB.

Practising the 'Dutch Reach'

Chris Foord, member of the Capital Regional District's traffic safety commission believes the increased penalty isn't a cash grab, but an effort to draw attention.

"The object is not to hand out a bunch of tickets here. It's to use the occasion to say, 'Listen, people can get seriously hurt if a car door suddenly opens in front of you, so let's focus on how to avoid that occurrence,'" Ford told CBC's Kathryn Marlow on All Points West.

To avoid dooring cyclists, Foord advises motorists and passengers to practise what's known as the"Dutch Reach," where occupants reach over with the hand furthest away from the door to open it, forcing them to glance over their shoulder to make sure no one is coming.

"Take that extra half second and make sure that you can do that shoulder check," said Foord. "It's just one of these elegantly simple things."

The provincial government says in 2019, 10 per cent of British Columbians commuted to work using active transportation, the highest among the provinces.