“The point of the door caught me just here,” the seasoned cyclist told me, prodding himself in the chest. “Broke two ribs, collapsed my lung, it was ages before I was back on the bike.”

“I was luckier,” said another old campaigner. “I hit the middle of the door, and wound up on the driver’s lap, jammed against the steering wheel.”

Keep clear ... a cyclist avoiding the door zone. Credit:Ken Irwin

Not the kind of conversation you like to hear at dawn, just before going on your first club ride. I’d only been riding for a few months, and was new to the many dangers of cycling – especially riding on busy urban and suburban roads.

Any cyclist riding along a street lined with parked cars faces an unenviable choice. They can either ride well clear of the zone where car doors might open, possibly raising the ire of the motorists behind. Or they can hug the line of cars, giving motorists more space to pass – but risking their lives if it all goes wrong, as this alarming video shot in the US shows: