Because I'm angry about almost being hit

This afternoon Hubby and I decided to take a walk. (Ok... ok... we were walking to our local watering hole to have a pint while we worked on work. It is "Labor Day" after all... Hard work deserves a freshly brewed reward. But really, our destination is not important to this story.)

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We approached an intersection with a traffic light. We pressed the walk button, waited while the signal changed, and stepped out into the intersection (after looking both ways) once the signal was in our favor.

As we were crossing, not one but TWO suburban death machines cut across our path as the drivers made left hand turns through the intersection.

As the second driver nearly hit me, I threw up my arms in a "what the eff are you thinking?" stance. Kindly note that I refrained from cussing or flipping off the driver, though he thoroughly deserved both.

The driver (an older, white-haired man with a sense of entitlement) yelled out his window:

"I have a green light!"

Excuse me, Mr. Entitlement, but the law clearly states that no matter what the color of your traffic signal is, mowing down a pedestrian is not one of your god-given rights.

For that gentleman's benefit, I quote Florida Driver's Handbook, section 5.16 - Pedestrians.

5.16.1 – Safety Rules for Motorist Regarding Pedestrians
It is the motorist's responsibility to do everything possible to avoid colliding with pedestrians. Bicyclists, skaters and skateboarders in a crosswalk or driveway are considered pedestrians.

1. Turning motorists must stop for pedestrians at intersections and driveways.
2. Motorists must stop or yield as appropriate for pedestrians crossing the street or driveway at any marked mid-block crossing, driveway or intersection without traffic signals.
3. Drivers must not block the crosswalk when stopped at a red light. Do not stop with any portion of your vehicle overhanging the crosswalk area. Blocking a crosswalk forces pedestrians to go around your vehicle, and puts them in a dangerous situation.
4. You must stop and remain stopped for pedestrians on the sidewalk when entering or leaving an alley, driveway, or private road.
5. Do not make a turn that causes a pedestrian to stop, slow down or make some other special effort to avoid a collision.
6. If children are in the vicinity, take special care, because children are not fully aware of the dangers of traffic.
7. Be respectful of others who have difficulty in crossing streets, such as elderly persons or persons with a visual disability.

Be especially observant for children in or along the roadway and be aware of pedestrians sharing the road where sidewalks are not present.

Mr. Entitlement violated, at a minimum, rules 1 and 5. But I'm certain he thinks I, the legally-crossing pedestrian, am the problem.

Of course he thinks so. After all, he yelled as much to me out the window. His internal combustion engine "deserves" the right to the road, regardless of how many of my tax dollars go into paving and painting the pedestrian crosswalk. He deserves his hurry-hurry to his destination, regardless of whether or not he put my life (and Hubby's!) in danger. His use of the road trumps mine because, quite frankly, his safety was never in danger. And, sadly, Mr. Entitlement will probably go to his grave thinking he has the right-of-way. Orlando, a much larger city, with far more pedestrians, only started ticketing crosswalk-violating drivers with a $164 fine for the first time last month.

Is it any wonder that Florida has the nation's highest pedestrian fatality rate?

Each year more than 2,500 Florida pedestrians are killed in traffic accidents, and the fatality rate (2.55 per 100,000 population) is nearly double the national average.

This infuriates me.

As runners, hikers, bikers, and general get-outsider-ers, I'm sure readers of this blog have plenty of their own tales to tell of drivers-gone-berserk...

I say it's time we take back the streets with a campaign of pedestrian awareness. I don't mean a "critical mass" of runners and walkers (it's been tried and has had mixed reviews). But what about posters and bumper stickers that say:

"Responsible drivers yield for pedestrians"

Or

"It's right and it's law: yield for peds and bikes"

When the law is ignored, and bones won't withstand the impact of a Suburban, peer pressure and shame might be our only hope.

What's your worst car vs. pedestrian tale?
What slogan would you want to see on a pro-pedestrian bumper sticker?

Freaky Friday

I'm home safe and sound in Florida today, and will soon be sharing some photos from my San Diego trip, but first...

Hubby rented a car for this trip, which was a novelty for me. (I almost never use a car in San Diego, as the trolley and my two feet can get me almost everywhere I need to go...) One evening Hubby and I had some errands to run. I stashed our shopping bags in the trunk, but then I couldn't get it to close properly. I opened the trunk back up to see what was blocking the latch, and I found this:

Pull-tab seen inside the trunk of our rental car.

Apparently our rental car was equipped with an escape lever so a clever abducted person could make a getaway attempt.

Close-up of the escape mechanism.

I do appreciate that the instructions show the cartoon-person running away, but seriously, am I the only one who is disturbed by this feature? The mere presence of this "pull tab, jump out of trunk, and run!" device implies that the manufacturer thinks abductions are common enough to warrant an escape hatch built into their cars. Maybe the designer was watching too much Hawaii Five-0?

Or maybe they saw this...?

Source: images.search.yahoo.com via Rose on Pinterest 

Weird, no?

What's the weirdest thing you've ever seen in a car (rental or otherwise)?

The things I carry

In this photo are four items that I always have with me when I run, and one that I never do. Can you guess which is which?

If you guessed that I ditch the phone for my runs, you'd be 100 percent correct. Yes, I know it's all beat to hell around the edges, but that's because I'm clumsy in general, not because the phone comes running with me.

I never run with my phone.

I tried once.

The result was less than optimal.

I carried my phone during a Rock 'n' Roll marathon, thinking it would help me locate my family post-26.2 miles. (It did.) However, my at-the-time landlord called me, repeatedly, mid-marathon. When I finally answered, he informed me that he was bringing a potential new tenant over to see my apartment THAT DAY. Despite the fact that it was illegal to not give 24-hours notice and that I was running a marathon, he insisted that he'd be bringing a stranger into my apartment in a few hours.

I was so angry, I ran faster. But that's the last time I carried my phone during a run.

Running is my away-time. I enjoy the hour (give or take) away from technological distractions and my OCD obsession with checking my email. (Yes, the phone is old and beat, but I have web access!)

In terms of concerns about running safety, I carry pepper spray. I figure that's a more effective deterrent than a phone, knowing that in a confrontation my hands might be too shaky to dial, but that pepper spray doesn't need a direct hit to work like a champ. (And hopefully you and I, dear readers, will never need to find out whether the spray or phone works better in a pinch.)

On the other side of the spectrum, I have seen runners not just carrying a phone, but full-on talking on the phone while running! And last week I caught sight of a woman running, talking on the phone, and walking her dog. Now that takes some skill. If it were me, I'd have dropped the phone while tripping over the leash... but I digress.

To be honest, whenever I see a phone-runner, a catty little voice in the back of my head thinks: "How can you be running hard enough if you're chatting? Put down the phone and RUN!" Then again, that's what people probably thought about me for answering my phone mid-marathon.

I should have turned it off.

What do you always/never carry on a run?

Do you ever run with a phone?

Listen to your mama - lessons in running safety

In honor of Mother's Day, today's post is about running safety.

And I don't mean "Don't run with scissors - you'll put someone's eye out!" (Although that is good advice, too.)

Before I lose my male audience here, assault is not the only safety concern for runners. In 2009 more than 4,000 pedestrians were struck and killed by cars in the United States. Florida has the highest pedestrian fatality rate, at 2.5 fatalities per 100,000 residents (compared to a national average of 1.3), but unless you live in Wyoming or Vermont (which tend to have fewer than 5 incidents per year) your risk is definitely not zero.

So here are my three favorite "things your mama would tell you if she was a runner" safety tips:

1 - Look and listen: Be aware of your surroundings - people, cars, potholes, roots sticking out of the trail. I am not a no-headphones curmudgeon, but you can't hear a car coming if you have the volume on so loud that it drowns out background noise. If you must listen to music while running outdoors, keep the volume low. Apparently the listening in one-ear-only option isn't all that safe either, according to Runner's World. Whatever the circumstances, safety experts agree that being alert is the best way to avoid a dangerous situation.

2 - Use your voice: Whether it's a potential mugger, or a car about to blow through a stop sign (and your kneecaps), YELL. LOUDLY.
Shouting at an errant driver has saved my knees more than once. If the driver doesn't see you, making him or her hear you may mean the difference between an accident and a close call.
With personal threats, most perpetrators are looking for a victim that they can harass without much notice. So if someone is approaching you and you yell "No" "Stop" or "Back Off" you draw attention to the situation and reduce your attractiveness as a target for crime. I learned this (and other tactics) during a self defense course, which was 90 minutes well spent.

3 - Buddy up: Use the buddy system when running. I know, this is starting to sound like an after-school special, but sometimes there were good lessons to be learned in all the cheeseball antics of those hour-long morality-fests. Running with a partner is ideal, but some of the joy of running comes from going out alone. So if you're running solo make sure a trusted person knows what time you're leaving, the route you're taking, and when you'll return... because you don't want to wind up like Aron Ralston.