Question: when you’re walking in a parking lot, is it the responsibility of the pedestrian or the driver to avoid collisions while opening car doors?
In WA, you only have to yield right of way to pedestrians if they’re in a crosswalk and are following the signal. True, this doesn’t mean you get to run them down if they jaywalk, but if someone is waiting to cross a street mid-block, you aren’t allowed to stop and let them cross either. Yet, as with most traffic laws, things get muddy when it comes to parking lots: private property, non-city road, etc. So, if a pedestrian was walking in a parking lot between cars and got hit with an opening car door, who would be at fault?
I ask because this morning I opened my door (which is rather large on a Mini, considering the size of the car) and it almost whapped the backside of some dude walking close to my car. I pulled in while he was walking across the lot, if he was thinking about it. The spot next to me was open, so it was his choice to walk right next to my car. Given how far past the door he was, I’d say he was in my blind spot even if I thought to look. The thing is that he shot me such a dirty look that I apologized before I had a chance to think “I wonder if he just dinged my door with his travel mug.” Which makes me think that it’s a driver’s responsibility, but even so: you can’t go running around parked cars without paying attention.
Did I waste an apology on the git?
I think it’s always your responsibility to look for obstacles before opening your door. Think about parallel parking on a street and opening your door: if you hit a bicyclist, or a passing car, it’s definitely your fault for not checking before opening the door.
But parking lots are nasty. There aren’t limited areas for pedestrians since people need to get at their cars wherever they’re parked — and, by definition, they’re all over the lot. You don’t expect a pedestrian next to you, and the pedestrian doesn’t expect the door to open (because, in the general case, cars are unoccupied in parking lots).
can it not be both of yours responsibility? In wich case, he should also have appologised.
I reckon. But there IS a blind spot, and from a pedestrian point of view, I don’t think it smart to go walking across traffic without looking – I assume that not everyone is Aware while behind the wheel…
I guess I’d agree more with Tim :)