Dutch Reach Practice Tips, Door Latch Reminders / Stickers

Far hand to latch with reminder ribbon, with Dutch Reach icon.

Memory aide to help swap out old habit for new! Reach across with your far hand to latch to initiate Dutch Reach anti- dooring method.

A note is taped next to car door latch with arrow pointing to latch & word "Look" printed on it. Note is to remind driver or passenger to use the safer far hand Dutch Reach method to exit vehicle to avoid dooring a cyclist who might otherwise crash into or hit the door were it suddenly opened.

Tape a note by car door latch as a reminder to use far hand Dutch Reach method to swivel & LOOK back over shoulder to safely exit vehicle and avoid dooring a cyclist or getting injured oneself.

'Dutch Reach Saves Lives" small square format sticker by unknown activist graphic artist found on Face Book site: @DutchReachSavesLives

Practice! Practice! Practice!

Breaking that old and dangerous near hand push habit and swapping in the Dutch Reach won't be easy.   To change over, do it over and over, and use reminders.  It will take at least 30 days say police academy experts.  Try to use it every day, every time you drive.

Do Practice Sessions:   Practice far hand opening in a safe place - in a driveway or parking lot safely away from travel lanes and traffic.  And prompt your kids and passengers to use it too - and to bug one another to use it~!

Set cues:  A tactile or visual cue can remind you to do it! Link & say a cue phrase upon undoing seatbelt or turning off engine or setting brake to exit eg. "Dutch Reach!" "Reach-Turn-Look".

Attach a ribbon, note, pipe-cleaner, rubber bands, or a Dutch Reach sticker on or near the door latch or on the dash board.

Teach others: Being an ambassador for the Dutch Reach  -  engaging friends, family, colleagues about it - will reinforce your intention & practice.

Bake it into Habit: Safety experts strongly recommend making best safety practices into strong habits. Repeated practice gets the safe sequence of moves into 'muscle memory'.

Once baked in, you'll do it automatically -- even when tired, distracted or impatient - as we often are after hunting for parking space, late for an appointment,  or in an emotional, impulsive or stressed out state of mind.

THE DUTCH REACH HABIT CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE...& PROTECT OTHERS AS WELL.

It can also spare you a crash, door damage, loss of license, penalty insurance rates, job loss, criminal prosecution, fines and civil liability lawsuits, sleepless nights and a mountain of sorrow and guilt.

Make safety automatic

The Rutch reach far hand method for safer exiting to prevent dooring collisions & crrashes replaces the thoughtless, flawed & dangerous near hand habit with an equally thoughtless but far safer habit.

Habitual best practice is key for safe behavior. See: The Habit of Safety by Tim Page-Bottorff. Diagram source here.

More graphics & stickers: (A), (B), (C), (D). 

Scarred by dooring collision with a car window, scarred for life, makes yellow car door latch sticker to help practice & make Dutch Reach anti dooring technique a habit.

Engineer Ed Nisley's simplest invention. Click image to enlarge.

Ribbon tied to car door latch to remind driver or passenger to use Dutch Reach far hand habit to open car door and avoid injury of cyclist, getting oneself or door damage hit by traffic.

Tie ribbon to door latch as cue to use far hand Dutch Reach way to open safely and avoid door crashes and injury.

New Dutch Reach sticker as png or jpg. Download, print & distribute!

SAVE A BIKER CHARMS & TAGS

Text of reminder tags in an example of home-made reminder to attach to car door latch to help drivers & passengers avoid dooring bicyclists upon exiting adjacent to traffic & bike lanes. Text reads: Wrap you charm around the driver's-side car door handle as a reminder to open the door with your RIGHT [or far] hand. This simple habit forces you to check the road befor you open your door!

Sample text for Charm reminders to use far hand Dutch Reach method to avoid dooring cyclists upon exiting.

Home-made Dutch Reach reminder made of a pipe cleaner with a small plastic bicycle charm attached.

Make your own bike charm life saving reminder!  Plastic bike charm attached by a pipe-cleaner to door latch. Photo & idea: SH Keniston.

Examples of Dutch Reach reminders or aide de memoire made of a tag with Dutch reach text on paper, attached to pipe-cleaners.

Dutch Reach reminder tags may be attached to door latches with pipe-cleaners. Credit: SHKeniston

List of Dutch Reach anti dooring features which make it a far safer habit for opening car, truck, van or vehicle doors to avoid dooring cyclists or getting drivers or passengers hurt themselves.. It prevents door fling, allows easy retraction, over-comes mirror absence or poor adjustment, works for back seat passengers as well as front seat riders. It becomes habitual, replacing the unsafe near hand to door method.

Click image to enlarge. Besides its pivot to see side mirror and then easy shoulder check back, the Reach has other, less obvious advantages over near hand opening.

A Safer Way - The Dutch Reach. Illustrative diagram. of far hand anti dooring method to prevent bicycle - car crashes caused by sudden opening of vehicle doors obstructing the bike land or travel lane. Credit: Boston Globe Staff; May 31, 2017, p. A1.

A Safer Way - The Dutch Reach. Illustrative diagram. Credit: Boston Globe Staff; May 31, 2017, p. A1. Click on image to enlarge.

Dutch Reach Universal Sign, version with cyclist, window, steering wheel and dotted line of sight between driver & cyclist.. Figure swivels for left over-the-shoulder check for on-coming cyclists or other vehicles to avoid dooring crashes. Silhouetted iconic human figure in solid black on white background, seated but swiveled to left with right far (right) hand extended to 'door latch', head turned back over left shoulder with arrow line of sight backwards looking, scanning, for on-coming bicyclists, cyclists, vulnerable users or other traffic or vehicles which might otherwise be doored if occupant opened car door heedlessly. Doorings can result in serious, even fatal injuries to exiting drivers or passengers as well as more commonly to cyclists. The Dutch Reach method shown in the image prevents careless exiting of vehicles. This graphic symbol is intented for traffic signs, parking signs, warning to prevent and avoid doorings by exiting occupants in or adjacent to traffic or travel lanes. Credit: NY Bicycling Coalition.

Dutch Reach Universal Sign, Figure swivels for left over-the-shoulder check for on-coming cyclists. Click image to enlarge. Credit: NY Bicycling Coalition.

Um Dooring-Unfälle zu vermeiden, sollten Autofahrende vor dem Aussteigen unbedingt an den Schulterblick denken. Besonders wirkungsvoll ist dabei der so genannte Holländische Griff: In den Niederlanden lernen alle Fahrschülerinnen und Fahrschüler, die Fahrertür mit der rechten Hand zu öffnen. Dabei dreht der Oberkörper nach links und der Blick geht automatisch nach hinten. Herannahende Radfahrende werden so rechtzeitig gesehen. Auch Beifahrer sollten aufpassen und ihre Tür mit der weiter entfernten Hand, also der linken Hand, öffnen.

Berliner Kampagne zur Vermeidung von Türöffner-Unfällen - FahrradPortal, 12. Juni 2018. Klicken Hier klicken für Details.

Dutch Reach reminder sticker,, Transp. Services, Lexington, MA.

Dutch Reach reminder sticker, passenger side or UK driver.

Bike Grip Sticker for Latch

Blue rubber strick with adhesive is attached to door latch handle as reminder to cue far hand reach method to avoid dooring cyclists. Surface grooves like that of a bicycle handlebar grip.

Rider Reminder - TAC Towards Zero (video). Tactile ''nudge' reminder sticks to door latch to cue vigilance (& far hand method). Rubber grooves suggest bicycle grip. Victoria, Australia..

Set of reminder stickers for Dutch Reach far hand anti dooring method to safely open car door & avoid dooring crashes with cyclists, bikes, bicyclists, or harm to self or damage to door.

Dutch Reach stickers in French & English for Canadian MP Joël Lightbound's nation-wide bike & driver safety campaign to end car door crashes, driver injury on exiting, and fatal doorings of cycylists. Attach sticker to dashboard or near door latch. Sticker reminds drivers to use the Dutch Reach far hand sequence. Daily repetition will swap out the risky near hand, & replace it with the obviously safer far hand habit - the Dutch Reach.

The Dutch Reach - Even Sexier Than It Sounds Because It - Saves Lives; Keep Us All Safe. Sticker reminders. Posted by: Elizabeth Tieri on Instagram: #DutchReach.

Modo Rideshare Dutch Reach Decal

Use right hand to pen door, forces you to . It forces you to look for bikes. It may save a life Do the DutchReach.org

Dutch Reach decal sighted in Vancouver, BC, Canada by Modo rideshare company. 27 Jan 2020. Click image to enlarge. Posted on Twitter here.  

Shoelace Reminder

Himself doored, J Keeton tied this orange sports lace to door lever as Dutch Reach reminder .

Erinnerungsaufkleber - Reminder Sticker

„Holländischer Griff“ schützt Radfahrende. - Sicher & Gesund, Hamburg und Schleswig-Holstein, UK Nord .de

Rubber Bottle Gaskets as Tactile Cue

Rubber lid gasket looped on car door handle becomes Dutch Reach tactile prompt. Rubber bands work too!

Dutch Reach Latch Lever Adapter

Dutch Reach door latch adapter which when placed on car door lever requires use of the far hand to to open.. Credit: Shaofeng Wang, National Taipei University of Technology Taipei, Taiwan. iF World Design Guide's Young Talent Contest.  Find more Dooring Tech Solutions here.

Lever Adapter Use

Demonstration of door latch lever adapter to require Dutch Reach maneuver.  Credit:Shaofeng Wang, National Taipei University of Technology Taipei, Taiwan. iF Design Young Talent Contest.

More Stickers & Graphics (A, B & C)  under Advocacy Toolkit