State To Begin Tracking 'Dooring' Bicycle Crashes
CHICAGO (CBS/WBBM) -- The state of Illinois will now begin tracking so called "dooring" crashes involving bicyclists and opened doors from parked cars.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Mary Frances Bragiel reports, "dooring" crashes involve a bicyclist who is hit as a car door swings open.
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Gov. Pat Quinn on Monday announced a new policy of tracking the number of reported crashes.
Daniel Persky, a spokesman for the Active Transportation Alliance, says this kind of policy is long overdue.
"This will allow us to identify those locations; map particular problems; allow us to identify the types of people who are impacted," Persky said.
Presently, the Chicago Police Department is the only agency tracking reported "dooring" crashes, which amount to about 70 a year, according to Persky.
The Illinois Department of Transportation will begin working with law enforcement agencies in Illinois to help in the recording process.
Before the new policy went into effect, "dooring" collisions went unrecognized in IDOT's annual reporting of traffic statistics because a moving vehicle was not involved.
Biking advocates say this particular crash would end if parked motorists would look in the rearview mirror before opening the door.
Will this new policy reduce the frequency of "dooring" crashes? Weigh in below.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
