If you use cars daily, there is something you do at least once per day – open the doors to exit the vehicle. It doesn’t matter if you’re just a passenger – opening the doors safely when the car is parked on the side of the street is a skill. And you should master it, because a lot of people get injured in “dooring” accidents every year. Ford is hoping to reduce the number of these accidents in the future.
Ford aims to prevent “dooring” accidents – opening the door into oncoming traffic. Image credit: Ford
Every year, thousands of people around the world are injured when car drivers and passengers open doors carelessly. At least 500 people are injured every year in England, Wales and Scotland alone. The true number is undoubtedly much higher, but many such accidents remain unreported.
There is almost no doubt that the number of such accidents will increase in the future, and so will the number of serious injuries. There have been numerous cases when people died due to injuries sustained during “dooring” accidents.
More and more people are moving to cities, fast vehicles – electric scooters and bicycles – are increasingly driving next to parked cars. Delivery personnel who are always in a hurry often get into “dooring” accidents, because they open and close their doors so many times per day. So now, Ford decided to at least try to reduce the risk of such accidents.
The new Ford Transit Custom has a new Exit Warning system that warns the driver or passengers whenever opening the door is dangerous due to incoming traffic from behind.
The system uses radar and other sensors to detect other road users that are approaching at a speed of at least 7 km/h. If it is dangerous to open the door, a warning signal lights up on the mirror and on the dashboard, and an audible warning is heard. The system works on both sides of the car, since sometimes there are bicycle lanes or cars are allowed to park on either side of the street.
In the future, the Exit Warning system will spread to other Ford models (the new Tourneo Custom already has it).
Ford’s Exit Warning helps prevent “dooring” accidents. Image credit: Ford
Of course, it is possible to open the doors even when the signal is shown – the system simply forces people to be more careful, to assess the situation and make a conscious decision about opening the doors.
You can reduce the risk of “dooring” accidents yourself. People of the Netherlands, where the bicycle is a very popular form of transportation, advise car drivers and passengers to open doors with the opposite hand. That is, we should open the left door with our right hand when we get out and vice versa. It kind of makes you look over your shoulder to see if anyone is approaching the car from behind.
Living in urban environments means living very close to other people. We share the space and responsibility to not endanger one another. You can prevent “dooring” accidents just by being careful and understanding that such risks exist.
Written by Povilas M.
Source: Ford