Dooring — Rhode Island Permit Test

Dooring on the Rhode Island permit test — 3 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

The 'Dutch Reach' means opening the driver's door with your right hand, turning your head, and looking out the side and rear windows.

Reaching across with the far hand turns your body so you see the cyclist about to pass your door.

This is the practice of opening the driver’s door with the right hand, turning your head, and looking out the side and rear windows.

Rhode Island Driver’s Manual, p.56

Rhode Island law forbids opening a car door on a road open to moving traffic until it is reasonably safe and will not interfere with traffic, including bicycles.

A door flung open into a bike's path throws the rider over it and into traffic.

No person shall open the door of a motor vehicle on the roadways, streets, or highways of this state, available to moving traffic, unless and until it is reasonably safe to do so and can be done without interfering with the movement of other traffic, including pedestrians and bicycles on sidewalks, shoulders, or bicycle lanes.

Rhode Island Driver’s Manual, p.56

You may not leave a door open on the traffic side of a vehicle longer than needed to load or unload passengers.

A door left hanging open into the lane is a wall a cyclist can ride straight into.

No person shall leave a door open on the side of a vehicle available to moving traffic, including pedestrians and bicycles on sidewalks, shoulders, or bicycle lanes, for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers.

Rhode Island Driver’s Manual, p.56

On the test

With which hand does the 'Dutch Reach' open the driver's door?

The right hand. Reaching across with the far hand turns your body so you see the cyclist about to pass your door. Rhode Island Driver’s Manual, p.56: “This is the practice of opening the driver’s door with the right hand, turning your head, and looking out the side and rear windows.”

How this works

Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.

You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.

Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.

What it costs

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All Rhode Island permit topics

Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against Rhode Island Driver’s Manual, published by the Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-04.