Be safe out there.

[mjncad]

OK, I'll risk being the Grinch here; but two recent tragedies involving pedestrians just may have been less tragic had the pedestrians been walking/jogging facing oncoming traffic and seen the vehicles coming at them, and hopefully jump out of the way. Since many of us live in rural areas with no sidewalks, please remember to be safe when walking out and about your areas on roads without sidewalks. Yes, I need to remind myself and my wife of that too.

This happened today, and the video says the jogger probably never saw the SUV, which implies he was jogging with traffic or was in the street when at least some sidewalk was available to run on. Any joggers out there care to enlighten me and the forum for that matter why they jog in the street when a perfectly good sidewalk is right there in a lot of cases?

Out-of-control SUV hits & kills jogger; slams into house


Out-of-control SUV hits & kills jogger; slams into house | 9news.com



The following happened about 3 - 4 miles from me and there are no sidewalks on that 45 - 50 MPH 2-lane road. Also, if the driver is found to have caused the accident because of his **** cell phone...well it just reinforces my signature line.

Families of pedestrians killed continue to mourn loss

Families of pedestrians killed continue to mourn loss | 9news.com

"We were hit from behind. That's the last thing I remember," Jarren Lewis said.

[creekbend]

Thanks for posting.

[grnspot110]

I walk a two lane road daily, always wear a green/orange safety vest. Besides the cell phone problem, there are way too many people out there who think only of themselves! ~~ grnspot

[rsewill]

Jiggers will use the road because the sidewalk may be very uneven and rough.

We do about three miles 4 to 6 days a week on a paved country road. Most drivers give my wife and me the whole lane we are in because the road is not heavily traveled (fewer than a half dozen cars). The worst drivers, the ones who try to drive us off the road, are older drivers. We've had one 70-something (I'm 61) come right up to us and try to use his vehicle to push us off the road. There was actual contact. We have a 12 inch weedy shoulder before it dives into the ditch. We would never walk in the same direction as traffic. As far as I know, it is legal to walk in the road even if there is a sidewalk. Just be sure to cross the road legally, at an intersection or crosswalk.

[beppington]

I walk a two lane road daily, always wear a green/orange safety vest. Besides the cell phone problem, there are way too many people out there who think only of themselves! ~~ grnspot

Bright colors only work if somebody is actually looking

[mjncad]

Jiggers will use the road because the sidewalk may be very uneven and rough.

As far as I know, it is legal to walk in the road even if there is a sidewalk. Just be sure to cross the road legally, at an intersection or crosswalk.

Well, I have little sympathy for joggers who purposely run in the street when a perfectly good sidewalk is just a couple of steps away.

On 2-lane roads, I try to give bicyclists and pedestrians plenty of room.

As for walking in the street legally, I suspect that varies from state to state.

[nue2farm]

My Grandaughter was hit by a car recently. She blamed the driver, of course, she was texting while in the ER so.... yep, I suspect she was texting while walking and not paying any attention to any thing around her.... I tried to point this out with the expected results. "driver did not see me"... Can't explain anything to some people... Have fun and stay safe.....

[jonyyuma]

Here, When driving the law for Bicyclist is to give them Three foot clearance...Most of them are wearing safety vests? This clearance is not easy when on our 2 lane blacktop with only 9 foot width each lane?

[beppington]

My Grandaughter was hit by a car recently. She blamed the driver, of course, she was texting while in the ER so.... yep, I suspect she was texting while walking and not paying any attention to any thing around her.... I tried to point this out with the expected results. "driver did not see me"... Can't explain anything to some people... Have fun and stay safe.....

Wow, that's pretty bad when even the hard lesson wasn't learned.

[rsewill]

Here, When driving the law for Bicyclist is to give them Three foot clearance...Most of them are wearing safety vests? This clearance is not easy when on our 2 lane blacktop with only 9 foot width each lane?

Total width of road is 18 feet. Bicycler is about three feet wide, but maybe five feet wide if they are not hugging the edge of the road. Your vehicle is nine feet if not oversize. Give yourself two feet on the side away from the bicycler and the legally required three feet. So, that's 5' + 9' + 2' + 3' = 19' or 1' too wide. If the biker takes less than five feet and you aren't driving a big truck and you don't require the two feet on the opposite side, then you should have enough room to give the bicycler three feet.