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Car blocked road and driver shouted at me
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I've crashed my bike and split all my forehead open once and another time last year...crashed my bike and broke my neck,but they were both of my own doing really....
Around where I am I often run in the lanes, but there are clearly two different sorts of drivers round these parts. Closer to the town, Colchester they tend to be impatient and prone to being knobs. On the Halstead marathon course in general they are excellent and give loads of room etc.
I have had the annoying close clipper experience in one particluar route that lead to only one place, so I ran to the village found the car noted the number and reported him. He buzzed me three time over the next few weeks and everytime I reported it.
After 4 reports from any member of the public regarding a "crime" the Police have to come and see you.
The youngman in question got a visit and I got loads of room from that day forward.
Use the law, you pay your taxes!
What Red Squirrel said.
Most peoples experience of regular excercise ends after compulsory education, never to be attempted again. Up there with reading long books and making art.
If you as an adult play in a football team, cycle to work, cycle to race, run races, do a tri, swim every other day , snowboard, whatever you are in the minority.
Fact!
I would even go as far as to say its not a very large minority just visible because its so unusal.
For the majority of adults we are just not on the radar.
So stay alert is all I can say.
I look forward to the day when im 60+ and still running and cycling around then I will really stick out.
When I was travelling in Australia in 2002, the pedestrian had priority on the roads, so if they decided to cross, a car had to slow down to let them. I don't understand why the car has been given priority in this country. Pedestrians need to cross roads to get places because there are so many of them(roads), especially in towns and cities. They are vulnerable and should have priority. If more bridges aren't going to be built over roads, this needs to happen. Who decided people in cars on roads are worth more than the people on foot trying to get from A to B?
... and the other day I was thinking about public service films that were around when I was a kid, telling you not to try to cross from behind a parked car. What a joke. The streets are now so lined with them, your kids would end up going miles out of their way home, just to find a place to cross without peering from the back of a parked car. In fact, it's safer to cross from behind a car, rather than down the road a bit where your view can be obstructed by parked vehicles (often on double yellow lines or too close to junctions).
The same rule applies in Norway.
They say only 1% of the population run ONE marathon in their lifetime. So why am I running 2 or 3 every year?
When I get old I'll start cycling and increase my swimming.
I might be a 16 stone marathon runner, but at least I'm healthy!!!!!
Most road users annoy me. I'm not sure if it's down to
a. Most road users being morons,
or
b. Me being a miserable git before my time.
In reality (a) or (b) alone would probably be enough,and are indeed true, for the result above. However the point about the only drivers who look out for runners are other runners is a good one, and as long as it's safe, I'll let them cross so as to not slow their time trial.
Also, I think there was a discussion earlier, I'm 99% sure pedestrians are supposed to use the right hand side of the road, for precisely the reason someone said they were using it.
Generally people are just too wrapped up in their own litle worlds to realise anyone else exists.
Sometimes it with good reason.
On the Berkhampsted half two weeks ago (Its 30th year!) the marshalls had stopped the traffic so that 1600 runners could cross the road. It's Sunday morning 11am. A well spoken well dressed couple in their 60s were complaining to the marshall. "We've got to get to the hospital. Have the police been informed of this race?"
What on earth were they in a hurry for on a Sunday morning? It obviously wasn't an emergency and surely people don't have appointments. I can onloy think they were going to visit someone extremely improtant. Sometimes people just amaze me.
Yep, do this.
They weren't in that much of a hurry. In that situation people are agitated and nervous.
I've only ever had one intimidation based incident in the past - and that was actually running in the countryside.
While I was running along a pavement, a car coming in the opposite direction threw a bottle of water at me and my mate who I was running with. Thankfully it missed, but the car had accelerated down the straight area of the road.
Now, I do most of my running in an Urban area or country roads. Aside from people driving far too fast down these roads, I've really got nothing else to report on it. The chavs who beep and shout "encouragement" in their own special ways just spur me on.
But if someone does get a little bit close to me on a country road, I make my emotions quite clear!
Chris, aged 27 and 11 months, miserable old git.
I've been punched in the stomach once. I made a mistake of running between a group of lads talking on the pavement, and i got his wraith. Didnt feel it. Carried on going.
I tend to go out of my way to avoid people. I go along the road if i see anyone, or on the grass verge. A lot of people, youths etc, will move, but i have nearly been hit by a car pulling out their driveway, a toddler who ran into the pavement, a dog walker, and a woman with her shopping.
Its like anything though, you go at the wrong place, wrong time, you might just hit that bad moment.
I'm a GP so I am used to getting grief (not too often, most people save it for ther receptionists) sometime there is some understandable reason behind people's little tantrums and I will make allowances; most of the time they are just angry demanding people that think they are more important then anyone else. I always presume there is a reason and act all concerned but the bottom line is that there will always be people around who think they own the road, or the surgery, because they paid a few pounds in tax once before they got signed off long term sick with stress..... or whatever (usually back pain).
Is it worth it? 1) you have to prove the event took place, difficult without a witness 2) you have to prove that a particular person was driving the car and people like that probably wouldn't hesitate to lie to the police if it ever got that far.
Again - I could have had 2 people charged with assault in my GP career to date on those grounds but we always report to the police and they have never suggested taking it any further - and that is with witnesses.
One bit of open road I run on links to an industrial park and refuse tip. Lots of lorries. The roads very wide, straight and otherwise quiet. Unfortunately that also means cars floor it. Thankfully the guys in their lorries slow and give me lots of space. I always make a point of making eye contact with the driver and nodding as a gesture of appreciation. Thankfully they realise smearing me across the tarmac for a laugh would be bad for their careers.
I would really like to start up a new running route which would go along a busy country road for a few miles but haven't plucked up the courage yet - I run a few hundred yards along the road to get to a smaller road (about 1 car per hour, if that - lovely!) and it's really quite busy.
Oddly enough, hearing all you people who regularly run on country roads has actually meant I'm going to go for it. Let's hope I don't have my own story to add to this thread!
Haha. Running poles. Great idea!
I run on country roads (only as far as the access point to the cycle track) but I've never had any bother from motorists. Apart from just basically driving past you at 60mph as if you're not even there, of course...