Mike Prizy wrote: > But why be dead right? If special clothing has to be worn with the intent of being seen by drivers, > then maybe a route farther away from auto traffic needs to be found. I think bright clothing gives > some runners a false sense of security. Unfortunately such routes are getting more difficult to find. And for those of us who run in the evening, it is even worse. I once lived in an area where I could safely do long runs at night with plenty of well lighted sidewalks and relatively safe streets. Now I live in a rapidly growing area where runners and bikers risk life and limb, children do not even walk to the nearby school, and the only sidewalks are in those highly restricted subdivisions. The primary design consideration for the community has been to maximize the profits of the developers. Hell, it's not even safe to walk anywhere in broad daylight, as drivers ignore posted speed limits and there are only narrow shoulders on the sides of the road. So I try to wear bright colors, stay alert, and attempt to minimize time on the more dangerous roads.
> Having grown up in the South Suburbs of Chicago, I've had numerous run ins with cars and > pedestrians. While in college, I was surprised at the number of run ins I had on country roads - not > just with aggressive car loads of teenagers - but from the grandmas and grandpas who wouldn't yell > or throw anything at us, but seemed set on making me/us dead right. I was once tooling along on a cold night and felt something hit me in the chest. I looked down and saw that I had been egged. I watched the auto which I thought had just passed me turn into a driveway and immediately confronted the driver. To my surprise, it was an elderly man and his wife! Since I didn't actually see the egg being thrown, all I could do was apologize and continue on. Our angry responses to driver aggression can sometimes get us into trouble. I fully expect to get shot by a drunk redneck one day while running and die just like Dennis Hopper at the end of "Easy Rider". bob
