Jdsk wrote:I'm sure that it will go up in proportion to distance.
Quite - It is about 2m to the back of your car, so by the time you get to 12m (and that is emergency stop territory) you have a 2.4m wide blind spot.
But it is clearly "possible" to see some cyclists rather than only the door pillar.
But the point is not to see some cyclists, but to establish there are no cyclists approaching. Indeed the ones that are so close that you can see though the side window will have passed by the time you open the door. Imagine you were actually attempting to door a cyclist by looking though the side window and opening the door when you spotted one - you have about a quater of a second to react.
And at 12m they will be visible in the mirror,
Or they would be if you were looking at the mirror rather than trying to peer though your door pillar. But at least, finally we get to an inkling of reality. In order to see things approaching from behind you have to
LOOK IN YOUR MIRROR.
Of course your mirror is best viewed from a forwards facing position sitting in the normal driving position - you will have adjusted your mirror to give the best view from this position order to be able to use while driving. The trouble is by promoting the dutch reach you are encouraging people to actively turn away from their mirror (where they can see approaching cyclists) to stare at their door pillar (though which they can't)
Perhaps if some campaigner came up with some snappy name for the procedure associated with a country that has a good safety record. perhaps
"The Swedish Mirror Check".
and as the door opens by direct vision
The whole point is to check there are no cyclists BEFORE you open the door.
With the Dutch Reach you don't get to see them till AFTER. Presumably you get to see them swerve into the path of a passing truck as they react to the door they see opening into their path.
Will people please please stop advocating this stupidity.