Brooks Adrenalines
Since there are a bunch of us who exercise outdoors, I thought it might be beneficial to toss out some safety tips every once in a while. The one I’m going to talk about today actually happens to me quite a bit. I even encountered it today. It irritated me even more today because the person was actually really rude about it!
I run in a neighborhood for the majority of my miles. Only when I’m doing long distances do I hit up trails. Running in my ‘hood is just more convenient because when my run is over I’m already back home!
I run on the road because the surface is much more softer than sidewalk. I realize that probably sounds silly but concrete doesn’t give at all, and asphalt is a little bit more squishy. The biggest problem I have with running in the neighborhood is not the cars driving on the street. Believe it or not, it’s those that are backing out of their driveways. They just do not pay attention at all to their surroundings. The majority of them don’t even look both ways as they are backing out, they only look the way the backend of the car is going. And face front again as they are ready to roll forward.
Not safe for the driver or anything else out on the road! So many times I’ve scared drivers because when they finally turn around I’m standing there staring at them waiting on them to finish going about their business.
Today I had a run in with a driver who got annoyed with me as I waited for her to finally acknowledge my presence. I was coming up on her left and she was backing out looking to her right. She looked right the entire time she backed out of her driveway. When she finally looked left, I was standing there waiting for her to see me. She stared me down. I’m still standing there waiting on her because she never gave me the, No-You-Go-Ahead-Wave. She just kept staring. Finally she rolled her eyes and made the, Freaking-Move-Already jester.
Nice lady. You’re peachy.
So I went on about my business and gave her the Hey-Thanks wave as I ran by because I was determined to be the better person. In my head though I was telling her she was Number 1 in my book.
Running Safety Tuesday Tip is if you run, walk, or bike in neighborhoods pay closer attention to driveways because you never know when a car is going to start backing out. You need to watch for them because they certainly are not watching for you. You need to take care of the actual Number 1 so be viligant and be safe.
It can be so hard to figure out what drivers want you to do sometimes. I’m sorry but “pedestrian right of way” is just non-existent anymore I think. Great reminder!
I feel like that happens to me all the time! And when they do see me, they seem so annoyed to be sharing the road with a runner. Good tip.
Victoria, isn’t that crazy? I have no idea why they get annoyed at us, we’ve done nothing wrong!
Cheers to you for being the better person!!! I think drivers get ticked off at runners b/c they know they should be running instead of sitting on their fannies and you remind them of that by being out and about. Lol about them being surprised to see you. Um….what if you were a car? or worse yet a speedy teen in a car text messaging while you’re driving??! Can we say C-R-A-S-H!!
RY, ha! When I surprise them I get the total “oh my gosh” face. If I wasn’t annoyed I would probably laugh at them. :p
I almost got hit by a car pulling out a driveway when I was on my bicycle — you can’t really stop at each driveway when you’re on a bike. We have so many walkers and bikers here that it’s become second nature for me to slowly pull out and see if anyone’s coming. The difficulty is when you’re at a blind corner…
Becky, you’re right blind corners can be tricky. Slowing down a bit is really the only option there.
I prefer to run on the road too, because it’s softer on my legs and joints. I’m always SUPER cautious, and always assume that drivers don’t see me. I’ve encountered the same thing with drivers pulling out and not looking. It’s annoying, and dangerous!
Another thing that annoys me is when drivers turn right without looking to the right (they only look left). Again, I assume they don’t see me– that’s definitely saved me from being hit before!
I’m glad you are careful, and good for you for taking the high road in that story. That lady sounds so irritating.
Anne, yes I get that too! People totally making a complete turn without even looking where they are going. Goodness!
Driveways are the worst. People really do back completely out without taking a good look around. I’m convinced that the grumpy drivers don’t exercise. If they did they would understand what it means to share the road and they’d also be in better moods from all the endorphins. :)
Great tips! I had a similair experience today. As a runner, we definitely have to be paying attention to our surroundings…especially the driveways. :)