Excuse me...
So I went for my run today, and I discovered something that keeps repeating itself. On the weekends, I go running on the Mt Vernon trail. It's a gorgeous 17 mile trail along the Potomac River, and there are plenty of runners, walkers, and bikers. It's not far from my apartment, but it does require me to drive to a parking area to get on the trail. During the week with limited time to run before work, I run in my neighborhood. It's a quiet, residential area and there are other runners, dog-walkers, and some moms with their kids in strollers. I don't run in the dark, fog, rain, snow - or anything that would endanger my safety on the roads or trails. I run when it's clear and mostly dry, and I wear running clothes that you can see me in - my black jacket has white piping front and back, my shoes are pink with reflective stripes. I run on the right side of the sidewalk or trail to allow other people to pass. I don't run at an incredibly speedy pace, and even though I run with my mini ipod, the volume is low enough that I am aware of traffic and other sounds around me.But without fail, every run in my neighborhood, I encounter (at least) one car who can't wait the 5 seconds for me to cross the rest of the street even though I'm already in the middle of the road and so I nearly get run over. I also encounter the pedestrian who doesn't have the courtesy to move to one side of the sidewalk, even though he/she can clearly see that I am running towards them. This only happens when people can see me in front of them. When I am running behind pedestrians, they automatically move to one side so I can pass... when I am crossing a street and a car is behind me to turn onto the street, they wait for me to cross. So I don't understand why the people who can plainly see me coming towards me don't care to wait or move. Isn't this just common courtesy? If I'm walking down a street, and I see someone coming towards me, I automatically move to one side so they can pass. And if I'm in my car and someone is trying to cross the street, I wave at the person to go first. It's just 15 seconds. I don't have this issue on the trail. Apparently there's an unspoken code of courtesy there.
So while I can't change the people in my neighborhood - please do my fellow runners a favor. The next time you see one, give them space to pass on the sidewalk, or wave them across the street before you go in your car. We wholeheartedly appreciate your courtesy.
posted by Eves @ 8:55 PM
2 Comments:
its not just your neighborhood if it makes you feel any better.
i try the stare down when crossing the street. "i see you, you see me, and if you hit me, I'll sue"
really i think its just city life. go back to rural illinois and everyone is happy to let you cross the road and wave.
oh and finally, my newest running experiment is to say hello/good morning/evening to everyone i pass by and see if they respond or even make eye contact. very rare most times.
nate
Welcome to being a runner.
Even in High School when we would run as a group of 5-7 people, drivers would see us and still pull out to make a turn or pull almost into the interesction to check traffic, obstructing our path of travel. On more than one occasion when it was unavoidable, they found one or two sets of footprints across their hood and I once had to slide across the front of one car to avoid injury to myself.
I can't say why a pedestrian would do it, but as far as drivers go it further supports my theory that driving reduces your IQ by half. I don't understand how seemingly intellegent people become morons behind the wheel of a car.
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