again, couldn't agree more with Mr Gsif.
the thing with
opened car doors is that you are either heading toward the exterior panel side - one can assume this would lead to a 'softer' impact as they are designed to behave a certain way when impact occurs
or
the interior side which does not have the same level of design consideration.
the interior side has that nasty door edge, which i've read stories of leaving a size-able gap in ones chest if struck upon.
i'm extremely diligent when passing parked cars and also weaving through backed up traffic (taxi's being the hazard here, as passengers often get out at the lights)
i look through the car and also in the wing mirror itself as some cars have no rear view and i check for movement or faces.
as mentioned in the link to the article about the tragic death of that fathers son, if we (the government/nation/whoever is in support) are trying to encourage more cycling, there needs to be more consideration with regards to the travel system and safety of cyclists.
cars have this kind of consideration during design and even the road systems themselves are built around them these days: (forgive me if these aren't the best examples)
-central reservations on motorways with the big metal barriers.
- cats eyes
- loose gravel traps,
- 'speed cameras' (?)
- NCAP safety tests (not sure how much they include 'cycle impact safety') but they sure do for pedestrians.
- ABS brakes
- Airbags
all of this predominantly protects the driver, but very little protects what its colliding with....
the simplest solution would be to separate cycling systems from vehicle transport systems completely.
to be honest this would be ideal, as i hate breathing in the crap that cars excrete and enjoy the parts of my commute that take me away from all this the most
i'm pretty sure it'd be a lot easier and cheaper to cut through a couple of hedges here and there to allow a flow of off road cycling routes rather than slapping some red tarmac down right next to all the traffic on the busiest roads in town centres (often placed right next to bus lanes - of which every time a bus passes, i renew my faith in god and quickly make a deal with him before the bus passes)