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The ‘Dutch Reach’: from tomorrow British people have to get out of the car differently

Abroad this is called the Dutch reach, the Dutch grip with the ‘farthest’ hand, but we don’t have a name for it here. Dutch driving schools have been teaching their students to get out of the car in this way for decades.

And that’s not surprising, says traffic historian Peter Staal. “In our culture, with many cyclists, it goes without saying that you should be careful when opening your door. In other countries that is not the case.” But that is now going to change, because abroad they see that it works.

“It is therefore plausible that the way we open our car doors in the Netherlands has spread abroad,” says Staal.

High fine

Anyone who does not use the Dutch reach when opening the door in Great Britain from tomorrow risks a fine of one thousand pounds. “I have no idea if that works,” says Staal. “But anything that improves road safety is a plus.”

The traffic historian thinks it is not necessary to make the Dutch reach mandatory in the Netherlands and to issue fines for those who do not comply with it, because we are already more careful with cyclists.

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