Cyclists, drivers and ‘The Dutch Hold’

 Letter writer to The Irish Times, John Gaffney suggests an interesting idea to protect cyclists.

Sir, – Cyclists are always at risk of an accident when parked car drivers open their driver door without checking adequately if a cyclist is coming from behind. One helpful behavioural adjustment in this situation would be for drivers to adopt “The Dutch Hold”. This simply involves opening the driver door with the left hand, which necessitates the driver turning to the right and thereby improving their view of what might be approaching from behind their car. Simple but effective. – Yours, etc,

JOHN GAFFNEY,

Carrick on Shannon,

Co Leitrim.