A friend who works around road safety once showed me something surprisingly simple.
When you’re sitting in the driver’s seat, instead of opening the door with your left hand, reach across and use your right.
At first, I thought it sounded pointless.
Then I tried it.
That small movement forced my upper body to rotate toward the window and mirror. Without even thinking about it, I was looking farther behind the car before opening the door.
The technique is often called the Dutch Reach.
The idea is to reduce “dooring” accidents—when someone inside a parked car suddenly opens a door into the path of a cyclist or other road user.
It isn’t magic, and you should still check your mirrors and surroundings carefully.
But it creates an extra physical reminder to look behind you.
For passengers, the same principle applies: use the hand farthest from the door.
It takes only a second.
And once you get used to it, it feels surprisingly natural.
Sometimes safer driving isn’t about learning something complicated.
It’s about changing one tiny habit before opening the door.
