What is the “Dutch Handle”, this simple gesture that can save cyclists ?

A change in driving habits seems to be on the horizon for the year 2025. Faced with the many cyclist accidents in France, the authorities are thinking about the Dutch grip. But what does it consist of ?

221. This is the number of cyclists who died on the roads of France in 2023. According to figures from the Road Safety Authority, 44 electric bike users also died on our roads that year. Faced with this tragic, ever-increasing toll and the increase in incidents, the authorities have opted for the “Dutch handle”. This simple gesture could quickly join our highway code, if we are to believe the website Presse-citron.

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Straight from the Netherlands, where 27% of journeys are made by bicycle, the method reduces the risk of accidents between cyclists and motorists. Among them, the famous “dooring”, when you open your car door suddenly while a bicycle is passing.

Opening your car door with the opposite hand

So what is the “Dutch handle”, already integrated into road safety training since 2023?? Well, it consists of opening your car door with the hand opposite it. The movement forces the rotation of the torso, thus allowing you to quickly check your rearview mirror, like the blind spot, to ensure that a cyclist is not approaching.

According to the French Federation of Bicycle Users (FUB), accidents involving a cyclist occur in 70% of cases without a collision with another user. And to quote another figure: nearly one in ten collisions between a car and a cyclist in the city involves a door, according to the Ministry of Ecological Transition.