SPRINGFIELD – The “Dutch Reach” method of opening a vehicle door would be included in the Illinois Secretary of State’s Rules of the Road publication under legislation advanced out of the Illinois General Assembly today by State Senator Omar Aquino (D-Chicago).

The legislation, House Bill 5143, is intended to reduce incidents of cyclists crashing into open car doors, an issue known as “dooring.” The legislation would also require that the written portion of the driver’s license examination include questions related to bicycle safety.

The Dutch Reach is a method of opening a vehicle door in which the driver or passenger checks the rear-view mirror, and then reaching for the door handle with their right hand, allowing them to look out towards the road and check the side-view mirror before opening the door.

“This is a simple safety measure we can take to increase awareness by parallel parkers and in turn, prevent injury to cyclists,” Aquino said.

In 2015, there were 302 reported cases of dooring in Chicago, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

HB 5143 awaits the Governor’s signature to become law.