What is ‘Dutch Reach’ technique and how it could save lives

How many times you have opened your car door only to find a cyclist or a biker ramming on to it? This is fairly common in India, in fact, it is a global issue.

Car doors are such a threat to bikers that there is a term to describe them; dooring. Sadly, dooring is a lot more common than you would think. While official records of dooring is hard to find in India, back in 2011, there was roughly one dooring accident in Chicago, US, each day.

Even though road mishaps in India are killing hundreds of people every day, the incidents of dooring are going unnoticed.

However, if we start documenting each such accident, the number would surely surprise everybody.

An incident in Bhopal showing a cop opening the door of a Mahindra Bolero which then hits the biker passing by, went viral on the internet.

After the biker was tripped by the door, the cop started beating the pillion rider of the bike who was trying to reason with the cop for his reckless behaviour.

इंदौर में पुलिसकर्मी ने पहले तो गलत साइड से गेट खोलकर बाइक सवार को गिराया, फिर डंडे से पिटाई की, बाइक सवार माफी मांगता रहा लेकिन डंडा चलता रहा, आरोपी पुलिसकर्मी निलंबित @ndtvindia @ndtv @vinodkapri pic.twitter.com/MtjwGMGncd

— Anurag Dwary (@Anurag_Dwary) November 9, 2020

There is an easy trick to prevent such kind of mishaps from happening and the tip comes to us from the Netherlands. It is called the “Dutch Reach.”

If you are sitting on the driver’s side of a parked car and you want to get out, don’t open the door with your right hand (even though it’s closest to the door). Instead, open the door with your left hand. This simple motion causes you to pivot your entire upper body as you reach the door handle. The technique will first help you draw your line of sight past by your rear-view mirror, and then out to the street over your shoulder.

Dutch Reach Technique

This technique can be used by both the driver and the passengers, irrespective of the drive side. Be it the left hand drive or a right hand drive, it can be used for all the cars.

For the unversed, a right-hand drive vehicle has its steering wheel on the right side. It is designed to be driven in countries such as India, Britain, Japan, and Australia where people drive on the left side of the road, and vice versa.

Newer cars come with safety features which blink the indicators when any on the doors are opened. These safety features are for alerting the people around the car. If you are careful while opening the door, these accidents can be avoided.

Lastly, the damage to a door of a vehicle can not be compared with the person falling off a bike and getting hurt. So, start practicing the 'Dutch Reach' to save lives and property.