Entering Your Vehicle Safely: Dooring, Unlocking and Personal Safety

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Opening your vehicle doors may seem like a routine action, but a moment of careful attention can prevent serious accidents and injuries. Taking the time to check your surroundings before unlocking your car is an important safety step that protects you and others.

Are you watching for approaching pedestrians or cyclists before opening your door? Do your mirrors and windows give you a clear view of any nearby hazards? How do you make sure your actions keep both yourself and others safe around your vehicle? When parked on a busy street or in a crowded lot, how can you protect yourself and your passengers before stepping inside? What small precautions help reduce the risk of dooring accidents, theft, or unexpected dangers?

This page offers practical guidance on safe vehicle entry, encouraging habits that keep you alert and aware in every parking situation. By adopting these simple but effective steps, you transform an everyday routine into a crucial part of defensive driving and personal safety. This information helps you stay secure and confident every time you open your car doors.

Key Takeaways

• 🗝️ See table

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? FAQ:

• ⮟ How to Safely Open Your Car Door and Enter Your Vehicle

• ⮟ What Is a Dooring Accident and How Can Drivers Prevent It?

• ⮟ Why Is Opening a Car Door Considered Dangerous in Traffic?

• ⮟ What Is the Dutch Reach Method and How Does It Prevent Dooring?

• ⮟ How Can Drivers Safely Check for Cyclists Before Opening a Car Door?

• ⬇️ What Is the Safest Way to Unlock Your Car to Prevent Theft?

• ⮟ Manual Key Entry

• ⮟ Child Locks and Passengers

• ⮟ What Should You Do If You Lock Your Keys Inside Your Car?

• ⮟ How Does Vehicle Entry Safety Connect to Defensive Driving?

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Key Takeaways

See table and downloadable PDF version.

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How to Safely Open Your Car Door and Enter Your Vehicle

Enter your vehicle safely in five steps: scan your surroundings, use the reflections and windows to check for movement, unlock selectively, open the door with the Dutch Reach, and get in and lock the doors at once. It takes seconds. Each step links to the full answer below.

Step 1: Perform a 360-degree scan before approaching the vehicle

Pause and scan your surroundings for approaching traffic, cyclists, pedestrians and anyone loitering near the vehicle. Have your keys in your hand, ready for quick access, and look around and under the car the Franklin County Sheriff advises having the key ready and looking into the back seat before you get in.

In a parking lot, check the spaces on both sides of the car before stepping between vehicles. If something feels wrong, go back to the building and reassess (see Parking and Criminal).

Step 2: Use reflections and windows to detect movement before unlocking

Use the car's window glass as a mirror: its reflective surface shows movement behind you before you turn your back on the street. Look through the windows into the back seat before you unlock, to confirm no one is inside. These two checks take under five seconds.

Step 3: Unlock selectively

Unlock when you reach the car, and unlock only what you need. On many cars a single press of the key fob unlocks only the driver's door; check your owner's manual (see the safest way to unlock your car).

Step 4: Use the Dutch Reach to open the door

Open the door with your far hand: the right hand for the driver's door in a US car. It turns your body toward the traffic lane, so you see cyclists and approaching vehicles before the door opens (see What is the Dutch Reach?).

Step 5: Enter quickly, lock the doors immediately and brief your passengers

Lock all the doors before you start the car. Turn on the child locks if you carry young children, and tell passengers not to open a door without checking for traffic (see Child locks and passengers). If you feel unsafe, drive away rather than sitting still in the vehicle.

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What Is a Dooring Accident and How Can Drivers Prevent It?

A dooring accident happens when someone opens a car door into the path of a cyclist, motorcyclist or passing vehicle. You prevent it by checking your mirror and side window and looking over your shoulder before you open the door, by using the Dutch Reach, and by pausing before you swing the door open.

The danger is real: in Chicago, dooring accounted for between 7.3 and 19.7 percent of reported bike crashes in 2010–2012, and reported dooring crashes there fell from 337 (19.4 percent of bike crashes) in 2011 to 202 (11.0 percent) in 2014 after the city raised the fine to $1,000.

The law

Opening a car door into traffic is against the law in most states: the League of American Bicyclists lists 41 states with a dooring law and 9 without. If you door a cyclist, you can be fined and held liable for the injuries.

How to prevent it

• Check before you open: mirror, side window, over-the-shoulder look (see How do you check for cyclists?).

• Use the Dutch Reach to turn your body toward traffic (see What is the Dutch Reach?).

• Open the door slowly and be ready to stop.

• Notice bike lanes beside on-street parking (see Bicycles).

Dooring laws, fines and driver-manual content differ by state; check your state's rules.

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Why Is Opening a Car Door Considered Dangerous in Traffic?

Because it is almost always done on autopilot. You have arrived, your attention has moved on to where you are going, and you open the door without consciously checking. A door swinging into a bike lane or a traffic lane gives a cyclist or motorcyclist no warning and almost no time to react, and the danger is greatest where bike lanes run directly beside on-street parking.

Why we do it without thinking

• Attention has shifted: The drive is over, and your mind is on the destination.

• The door is a blind spot: You cannot see what is behind and beside you through a closed door.

• It is a habit: Opening a door is one of the most repeated actions of the day, so it is rarely checked.

See Blind Spot and Pedestrians for the technique behind looking before you move.

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What Is the Dutch Reach Method and How Does It Prevent Dooring?

The Dutch Reach is a door-opening habit: you use your far hand, the hand furthest from the door, to open it. For a driver in a US car, that means reaching across with your right hand to open the driver's door. The reach turns your body toward the traffic lane and brings your head and eyes into the position of a shoulder check, so you see a cyclist or vehicle before the door opens. It needs no equipment and takes no extra time.

Where it comes from

It is standard teaching in the Netherlands. In the United States, Massachusetts added it to its driver's manual and tests in 2017, and Illinois passed a law in 2018 adding it to its driver education and Rules of the Road. A few other states have followed (see the League of American Bicyclists).

How to do it

• Stop and check your mirror for anything approaching from behind.

• Reach across with your far hand (the right hand for the driver's door) and open the door a little.

• Look over your shoulder as your body turns, and open the door fully only when it is clear.

• Use it for passengers too, whenever the door faces traffic.

What it can and cannot do

The Dutch Reach is a simple habit that makes a good check more likely. It has not been proven in controlled trials, and cycling advocates note that it is not the whole answer to bike safety: street design, protected bike lanes and enforcement matter too. Treat it as one habit among several, alongside the checks in How do you check for cyclists?. The video shows it at 14:50.

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How Can Drivers Safely Check for Cyclists Before Opening a Car Door?

Use four checks in order: look in the side mirror for cyclists in the bike lane, look at the side window (its reflection shows movement behind you), turn your head and look over your shoulder, and open the door with the Dutch Reach so your body is already turned to look. Then pause and check once more before you swing the door fully open.

The four checks

• Mirror: Look in the side mirror for a cyclist approaching in the bike lane or the gap beside traffic.

• Side window: Use the glass as a mirror; its reflection shows movement behind you.

• Over your shoulder: Turn your head and look directly into the bike lane or traffic lane.

• Dutch Reach: Open with your far hand so your body turns toward traffic (see What is the Dutch Reach?).

In cities with a lot of cyclists

Pause and check again before the door is fully open. Cyclists and e-bike riders can arrive faster than they appear in a mirror, and a door opened only a few inches is much easier to stop than one swung wide. Look for bike lane markings, and take extra care on streets where parking sits beside a bike lane (see Bicycles).

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What Is the Safest Way to Unlock Your Car to Prevent Theft?

Unlock selectively, and only when you reach the car. On many cars a single press of the key fob unlocks only the driver's door, while a double press unlocks all doors; use a single press when you are alone, so the rear doors stay locked while you get in.

Have your keys in your hand as you approach, so you can get in without delay, and lock the doors as soon as you are inside. Public-safety guidance is to have the key ready for quick access and to look into the back seat before getting in. Your car's behavior can be set differently, so check your owner's manual.

Good habits

• Open only what needs to be opened. Some vehicles let you open only the trunk, and it locks automatically when closed.

• Auto-relock: On some vehicles, if you unlock remotely and do not open a door within a certain time, the vehicle locks again automatically.

• A flat fob battery: If the battery is flat, remember that you can always open the car manually, because most fobs contain a mechanical key (check your owner's manual for where it is and how to start the car).

• Do not unlock from a distance and walk toward the car with the door(s) already unlocked.

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Manual Key Entry

Use the physical key slowly and deliberately: it protects the paintwork and the lock, and the pause gives you a moment to scan your surroundings. The video shows how to use a physical key without damaging your vehicle.

• Protect the paintwork: If you carry a bunch of keys, make sure the other keys do not scratch the body.

• Locate the lock opening first: Have a look at the accompanying video for a handy technique on how to easily find the lock opening and insert the key without damaging the paintwork.

• Do not rush: Be careful not to break the key in the lock because of haste; a broken key is a lockout (see What should you do if you lock your keys inside?).

• Use it as a safety pause: Entering manually takes a few seconds, so use them to look around and check the back seat.

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Child Locks and Passengers

For young children, make sure the child locks on the rear doors are on, so a door cannot be opened from the inside, and brief every passenger never to open a door without checking for traffic first.

• Turn on the child locks before you set off with young passengers.

• Tell passengers to wait for your instruction, and to use the Dutch Reach when the door faces traffic (see What is the Dutch Reach?).

• Let children out on the curb side whenever you can.

• Never leave a child alone in the car, and check the back seat when you leave it (NHTSA's Look Before You Lock campaign); see Children.

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What Should You Do If You Lock Your Keys Inside Your Car?

Call roadside assistance, a licensed locksmith or someone who holds a spare key. If a child or a pet is inside and in danger, call 911 first. AAA's guidance is to use roadside assistance or a locksmith, and to treat a child or pet locked in as an emergency. Do not try to force the door or break a window unless a person is in danger inside and help is not yet there.

How to avoid a lockout

• Keep a spare key with a trusted person, or at a location relatively close to the area where the vehicle is used.

• Use your car's connected app (for example OnStar or your manufacturer's app) to unlock remotely, if it has one.

• Check your pockets and bag before you shut the door: keys, phone, then door.

• A magnetic key holder hidden on the chassis can help, but it can also be found by a thief, so use it with care.

• Know your roadside-assistance number before you need it.

💡 Always keep a spare set of keys at a location relatively close to the area that the vehicle is used.

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How Does Vehicle Entry Safety Connect to Defensive Driving?

Defensive driving is anticipating hazards and removing risks before they become emergencies, and vehicle entry applies the same idea to the moments before you drive. The approach to the car, the scanning checks, the door opening and the locking sequence are all risk decisions that happen before the engine starts. A driver who enters the vehicle aware of their surroundings has already assessed the environment, confirmed there is no threat, and set a safe habit before the journey begins.

The same habits, before the engine starts

• Look before you move: The mirror, window and shoulder check before a door opens is the same check you make before you change lane (see Changing).

• Do not assume: Do not assume the street is clear or the car is secure (see Assumptions).

• Stay aware: Awareness does not start when the car moves (see Awareness).

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Continue the Course

Pre-Drive Checklist                                      Pre-Start Safety Checklist

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