Video captures brutal dooring of cyclist riding in Adelaide bike lane

Chelsea Mobishwash and Raymond Geluz were almost at work. It was Aug. 26, and as they were riding down Adelaide Street Mobishwash noticed that there was a truck parked in the bike lane. 

What happened next was a collision caught on a video that Mobishwash obtained from a nearby storeowner and put up on social media.

"I started ringing my bell because I had an eerie feeling that something was going to happen," she told CBC News. "And right as I was biking by I felt something hit me. To be honest I really didn't even know what it was until I hit the ground — I was doored by the truck."

Geluz was right behind her.  "As soon as she passed the door it opened on her," he said. He called 911 and, along with several others who stopped to help, comforted Mobishwash until an ambulance arrived.

She suffered severe bruising and needed some stitches, but the longer-term damage may be to her ability to feel safe on the roads again. "I won't be riding my bike for a long time ... It's going to be a while, mentally and physically."

Mobishwash has filed a police report, and is now trying to call attention to cycling safety.

Traffic services investigating incident 

Const. Hugh Smith, of Toronto police's traffic services, said the incident has been classified as a "dooring incident," which holds a $365 fine and three demerit points.

"Dooring" is categorized as a provincial charge and came into effect about a year ago. Traffic services is now following up with witnesses to see if the charge will be laid in Mobishwash's case.

Mobishwash was able to obtain security footage from the store near where she was hit — because they were so close to work, Mobishwash and Geluz knew the place, and its owner. Mobishwash posted the video on YouTube; so far it's been viewed more than 7,000 times.

Looking at the video, Smith said that the vehicle was stopped in a "no stopping zone" along Adelaide — straddling the bike lane as well as a through lane — which would warrant a $150 fine. 

Since a parking offence is a municipal charge, a parking enforcement officer would have had to lay that charge on site, he said. He added that to his knowledge, there were no parking charges laid at the time.

In this case, the parking offence is not being investigated as it was the dooring that caused an injury, he said.

He said traffic services is still working on tracking which parts of the city are hotspots for dooring. However, their incident reporting system now isolates dooring reports, which will make it easier to identify trends. 

Tell us your own dooring story

Mobishwash wants to see "more bike lanes; there need to be more laws in place for the safety of cyclists ... and enforcing those laws, on top of that."

As for measures cyclists can take to try to protect themselves, she adds: "At this point the next time I get on my bike I'm going to buy an air horn. I don't know what else I can do to really make them hear me."

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Has this ever happened to you? Tell us your own dooring story by sending an email to tonews@cbc.ca or tweeting us @cbctoronto.