{"id":878,"date":"2017-04-27T13:41:52","date_gmt":"2017-04-27T18:41:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.universaltaxidispatch.com\/blog\/?p=878"},"modified":"2017-04-27T13:41:56","modified_gmt":"2017-04-27T18:41:56","slug":"50-percent-jump-in-bicycle-dooring-crashes-reported-portage-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.universaltaxidispatch.com\/blog\/2017\/04\/50-percent-jump-in-bicycle-dooring-crashes-reported-portage-park\/","title":{"rendered":"50 Percent Jump In Bicycle ‘Dooring’ Crashes Reported – Portage Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

The number of bicyclists injured when the door of a parked vehicle was opened directly in their paths rose about 50 percent, according to data released by Illinois\u00a0transportation officials.<\/p>\n

In 2015, 302 bicyclists were “doored,” according to data released by the Illinois Department of Transportation. That is nearly a 50 percent increase from 2014, when 202 bicyclists were injured by car doors.<\/p>\n

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The sharp increase in 2015 comes after the number of bicyclists injured by doorings dropped from 2011 through 2014, according to city officials.<\/p>\n

Jim Merrell, advocacy director of the Active Transportation Alliance, said it was unclear whether there was actually such a steep increase in dooring crashes in 2015, or whether stepped-up enforcement or reporting contributed to the jump.<\/p>\n

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However, it is clear that the number of crashes are “unacceptably high,” Merrell said, adding that it was incredibly frustrating to get 2015 data four months into 2017.<\/p>\n

The alliance is putting together an analysis of the data to help make recommendations to Chicago officials.<\/p>\n

There were 1,644 reports of collision-related injuries in 2015 and 1,720 crashes involving bicycles, according to state transportation data. The number of crashes increased 3 percent from 2014 to 2015, according to the data.<\/p>\n

Six bicyclists were killed in crashes during 2016, according to city data.<\/p>\n

In 2013, city officials raised the fine for opening a door in traffic and causing an injury from $500 to $1,000 as part of a larger effort by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to encourage more Chicagoans to bike around the city.
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