Dooring fine now $352

Yesterday, I received a press release from Greg Barber, the Victorian Greens Leader, announcing that his campaign to increase the fine for dooring has been successful. I've always thought that an increase in education and cycling infrastructure would be more effective in decreasing the incidence of dooring incidents than increasing the fine, but I guess this can't hurt.

Here's the press release;

Every cyclist feels the threat of being doored when riding by parked cars. Too many have been unfortunate and have been doored, and there has been tragic deaths as a result.
Dooring is now the most common cause of a bike crash and this is why The Greens have been taking urgent action to reduce the threat of car doors to cyclists. 
The response of the cycling community to the Parliamentary Inquiry into The Greens Dooring Bill (Road Safety Amendment (Car Doors) Bill 2012) has been large and positive, and has resulted in a win for cyclists.
The government yesterday announced that the on the spot fine for 'dooring' has more than doubled to $352. This is a vast improvement on the measly $141 fine that existed previously; that's less than the fine for not having a bell on your bike!
Congratulations go to all of you who made a submission via our website (view here: http://vicmps.greens.org.au/dooring) and for those who participated in other ways. It shows what a strong community can achieve when working together - this is your win.
While more than doubling of the dooring fine is a great improvement, and the dooring issue has received much exposure and publicity in the process, more needs to be done. 
The Greens are working to ensure the penalty matches the seriousness of the offence - doorings can cause serious injury and death. 
The Greens Dooring Bill includes loss of three demerit points from the drivers licence, making the penalty a closer match to the seriousness of the offence. The greater the penalty, the greater the deterrent. I will be pursuing this in the passage of The Greens Bill through the Parliament.
We will keep you informed on how this proceeds.
In the meantime we will keep up the work campaigning to bring back the bike budget and improve cyclist safety with The Greens Bike Blackspot app - put your blackspot on the map here: http://vicmps.greens.org.au/lovemybike.
Safe cycling.

Greg Barber
Victorian Greens Leader and Spokesperson on Transport

Meanwhile, if you'd like to avoid being doored, here's some advice.