WEBVTT - How Can the Dutch Reach Save Cyclists' Lives?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of I Heart Radio, Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff Lauren Bogle bomb here rear cross traffic alert,

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<v Speaker 1>blind spot monitoring, pedestrian and cyclist detection. Automakers are coming

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<v Speaker 1>up with numerous new safety features to help drivers, and

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<v Speaker 1>more importantly, these features are becoming more available and affordable. Still,

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<v Speaker 1>drivers shouldn't wait for these innovations to increase their own

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<v Speaker 1>awareness of what's going on around their vehicles. What if

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<v Speaker 1>there were a quick and easy way to reduce cyclist

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<v Speaker 1>fatalities that doesn't require technology and that works in any car.

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<v Speaker 1>It turns out there is, and it's called the Dutch reach.

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<v Speaker 1>Here's how it works. If you're in the driver's seat,

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<v Speaker 1>instead of reaching down with your left hand and opening

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<v Speaker 1>the door, reach over with your right hand. Reaching across

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<v Speaker 1>your body slows you down and forces your body and

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<v Speaker 1>head to face the direction you're moving. You catch a

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<v Speaker 1>glimpse of the side mirror so you can see if

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<v Speaker 1>a cyclist or pedestrian is closer than they appear, and

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<v Speaker 1>then you'll automatically look behind you to ensure that no

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<v Speaker 1>one else is approaching. Put simply instead of flinging the

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<v Speaker 1>door open with one hand and doing something else with

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<v Speaker 1>the other like grabbing your bag, phone, coffee, whatever. The

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<v Speaker 1>Dutch reach forces you to be more conscious of what

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<v Speaker 1>you're doing in there were eight hundred and forty bicyclist

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<v Speaker 1>fatalities on United States roads, according to the National Highway

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<v Speaker 1>Traffic Safety Administration. That represents an increase of one over

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<v Speaker 1>and as the highest number recorded since Study from Vancouver

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<v Speaker 1>in British Columbia, Canada showed that of the cyclists who

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<v Speaker 1>were involved in a crash with a car, most injuries

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<v Speaker 1>were caused by doorings. When a cyclist is hit by

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<v Speaker 1>a car door that opens in their path. It's a

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<v Speaker 1>common misconception that doorings aren't serious because the car isn't moving,

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<v Speaker 1>but these common crashes can easily result in a cyclist's death.

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<v Speaker 1>That means that even if there isn't enough data to

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<v Speaker 1>prove the effectiveness of the Dutch Reach, yet, there's still

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<v Speaker 1>plenty of incentive to make the effort to reduce and

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<v Speaker 1>hopefully eliminate these types of collisions. The Dutch Reach got

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<v Speaker 1>its name because it's become second nature to drivers in

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<v Speaker 1>the Netherlands, who are accustomed to the country's bike friendly

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<v Speaker 1>culture before they even start to drive The Dutch Reach

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<v Speaker 1>is also taught in driver education in the Netherlands in

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<v Speaker 1>case anyone manages to miss the memo. Still, experts say

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<v Speaker 1>it took some time for drivers and cyclists to coexist

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<v Speaker 1>peacefully and safely, and the necessary changes didn't happen on

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<v Speaker 1>their own. After time and effort, other European municipalities began

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<v Speaker 1>to embrace this technique. That means that education and effort

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<v Speaker 1>can make changes in the United States too. The Dutch

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<v Speaker 1>Reach Project is an American organization that was created in

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<v Speaker 1>in response to the preventable death of a twenty seven

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<v Speaker 1>year old U S nursing student who died after colliding

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<v Speaker 1>with an open car door. The Dutch Reach was first

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<v Speaker 1>added to driver training manuals in Massachusetts, where the fatality occurred,

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<v Speaker 1>and in Illinois. Washington became the third state to add

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<v Speaker 1>the Dutch Reach to state driver materials as of February

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<v Speaker 1>of twenty nineteen. In a New York Times story about

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<v Speaker 1>the Dutch Reach, Peter Hahn, the survivor of a serious

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<v Speaker 1>dooring crash in Washington, compared the technique to the idea

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<v Speaker 1>of looking both ways before crossing the street. The Dutch

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<v Speaker 1>Reach Project aims to create awareness even more, educating drivers

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<v Speaker 1>about the technique with the hopes that the behavioral change

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<v Speaker 1>will become a habit and the norm. At the beginning

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<v Speaker 1>of twenty nineteen, Triple A and the National Safety Council

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<v Speaker 1>started teaching the Dutch reach in driver's safety classes, which

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<v Speaker 1>means that it may be on the way to becoming

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<v Speaker 1>more widespread in the United States. The Dutch Reach Project

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<v Speaker 1>says that it typically takes around thirty days to retrain

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<v Speaker 1>the brain to open a car door with the far

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<v Speaker 1>side hand. They suggest tying a ribbon to the door

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<v Speaker 1>handle is a way to remind yourself to practice the

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<v Speaker 1>Dutch reach every time you get out of the car. Eventually,

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<v Speaker 1>your brain will create the muscle memory necessary to make

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<v Speaker 1>it automatic. Today's episode was written by shers three Wit

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<v Speaker 1>and produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this and

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<v Speaker 1>lots of other curious topics, visit how stuff works dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is production of by Heart Radio. For more

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