An announcement is expected today that for the first time the State of Illinois will keep a record of bicycle dooring incidents, according to an article posted yesterday evening on The Chicago Tribune's website. The change was ordered by Governor Pat Quinn and will take effect immediately. Collection of data regarding the number of such incidents is to be facilitated by requiring all police departments in the state to record dooring incidents on traffic crash forms, according to the Trib.
Doorings in Chicago are frequent and often result in serious injury for the cyclist. The collection of information about where it happens and how often it occurs is no mere academic exercise. Addressing the issue -- with either infrastructure changes or law enforcement initiatives -- requires state and/or federal funding; money that cannot be acquired without data. Therefore, this rule change is a big step toward reducing these dangerous incidents.
Much thanks must go to the Active Transportation Alliance, Steven Vance and the Chicago Tribune's Jon Hilkevitch for bringing this important issue to the forefront and advocating for change.
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