Well, my wife had parked her car on the street and she was getting out of the car. She didn't look to see if there was any bike traffic and swung the door open. Right as she swung the door open a guy passed by on his bike. The front wheel caught on the lower door and damaged it. The guy was okay and didn't fall off the bike thankfully. I wonder how much this will be to repair. Any ideas? I am going to take my car in tomorrow to get an estimate.
Wait a minute! you mean that in a bike vs Prius crash, the BIKE wins??? You might not want to share that with your Hummer driving co-workers! Seriously though, sorry for the ding on your new baby.
I agree! First - glad the biker wasn't hurt as that could have damaged your wallet as well. Second - the biker didn't fall? With that kind of sheet metal damage to the car? Yikes. Third - this is just about the strongest part of the door; the lower edge with two + panels of sheet metal. Glad it wasn't any worse to the biker or your Prius. Off topic, but one (very slight) irritant I have about the '10 is the hollow sound when opening the door. And, you may want to invest a few bucks in a blind spot mirror - in case the biker was right there when your wife opened the door...
Cost? Higher insurance rates? The other guy was at fault in my accident; his insurance company accepted full responsibility. STILL waiting for parts to arrive at my 'local' Toyota dealer's collision repair facility - one month after contacting them. Parts are apparently not easy to come by. Click link below to see approximately $1100 worth of damage!
As a touring cyclist, I can say that getting "doored" is something that is always a real possibility. When riding, I watch to see if there is anyone in the driver's seat and will ride out into the lane, just in case. Drivers can't figure why I'm riding so wide but that's the reason. It's a hard habit for drivers to get into but one should always check the rear view before swinging the door open. I like the 'blind spot mirror' concept; the Prius does have blind spots for sure. I hope it's not *an arm and a leg* to get fixed!
this was definitely a lesson learned even though it was a hard one. i'll report back what the estimate is going to cost me.
Exbauer, That's a shame. It's good no one was hurt; but, if the bike rider didn't fall off, does that mean the bike wasn't damaged either? That could be insulting. --TK
Maybe the biker manage to almost completely stop before the crash. The bike impacted the car but the rider managed hang on and didn't fall.
I am sure there was some damage to the front fork of his bike. He probably didn’t notice it right away, but probably upon further examination when he got home. He did slow down before the impact. But, he was doing the hop dance trying to keep from falling forward. I got the estimate and it is going to cost $700 and some change. There is a small dent at the bottom middle of the door when the corner pulled out. They have the blend the paint with the rear door and a new body side molding.
First, stuff can be repaired, people are a lot harder. However, it does suggest a little irony: Once again, a sneaky, stealthy bike rider has snuck up on a helpless hybrid car and smashed into the door doing great physical damage to the poor hybrid and frightening the driver. Obviously, we need to equip all bicycles with mandatory noise generators to prevent such mishaps in the future. Bob Wilson
Well, the car was off. It would have been the same if it was any other car because it wouldn't have made any noise. It was the driver's fault for not looking before openning the door. Regardless if thy Prius made noise when it was on I don't see it making a difference. My wife was fumbling inside the Prius, so she didn't open the door right away when she parked it.
Just a tip: I always have the child safety lock on the left door always on. Rear seat passengers don't have a mirror to check traffic.
Come on think about what you said. That is about like saying the woman deserved to be raped because she wore a short dress. This guy is very lucky, there are I'm sure all kinds of people that would sue the stew out of his wife
I know for a fact that in DC, MD and VA the law is clear on this point: the person who opens the door is at fault because they are impeding the flow of traffic. I looked it up several years ago after a cab driver doored my Camry and then pretended not to see the damage he caused to my car. Ultimately he paid 100% of my repair costs. I think the laws in these jurisdictions are based on the US uniform vehicle code, so most states (if not all) probably have the same law. Moreover in many cases the biker (or passing driver) does not see the car park, because often the vehicle is already in the parking space with the engine and lights off for a minute or two before the driver (or left-side) passenger is ready to open the door. I live in a neighborhood with lots of on-street parking and I'm always amazed at the number of people who open their doors without bothering to look first for oncoming traffic.
