Be a left-hand driver for safety’s sake

After 32 years as a police officer Sergeant George White knows good safety advice when he hears it.

While on holiday in Ohope, in the Bay of Plenty, during the Christmas break the road police adviser was talking with some European tourists when he realised a method they were taught was a really simple trick to avoid a common collision involv- ing drivers opening their doors, usually, into the path of cyclists.

White said he would like to see all New Zealand drivers change their behaviour and adopt the practice of opening their door with their left hand. ‘‘It makes you turn around, it turns you around and you will be looking in the right place to see if anything is coming.

‘‘It’s a very simple thing that people can do to stop these injuries which in some cases are quite serious and can even result in death.’’

The left-hand opening practice was part of driver training in some European countries and was included in the licence test.

White, who is an avid cyclist, said while police didn’t get too many reports of accidents it was an everyday occurrence and it had even happened to him as a pedestrian this week.

‘‘On Monday, I was walking along the footpath by BP and a car had parked outside the service station. The driver opened his door in front of me and I almost walked into it,’’ he said.

‘‘We had a driver open their door into the traffic flow and a truck coming down the road took the door off and his arm.’’

The veteran police officer said while drivers or passengers could be fined $150 for carelessly opening their door, his motivation was to simply increase public awareness, which he hoped would improve safety of the district’s and country’s roads.

‘‘It’s safety for yourself and it’s safety for other road users.’’