Oh yeah, the other thing that happened yesterday…
Posted on December 18th, 2007 – 12:30 PMBy Roadguy
Roadguy almost got run over by a car. As in, “had-to-jump-out-of-the-way” almost run over by a car.
I was crossing Washington Avenue at a crosswalk in Seven Corners. I had the walk signal and was proceeding in the normal manner, between the white lines. Roadguy is admittedly not always this perfectly behaved, but there was a lot of traffic going to and from the 10th Avenue Bridge at lunch hour, so I wasn’t messing around.
As vehicles made right turns behind me, it didn’t occur to me that a car coming from the other way might try to make a left turn into me. But suddenly, there it was, coming at me — and accelerating, completely oblivious that I was in its path.
I jumped forward to get out of the way. As a six-foot-two man in a red parka, I was apparently invisible until I started jumping and swearing, because the driver noticed me at the last second and did some swerving and braking.
And how, you may ask, does a driver not see a six-foot-two man in a red parka until the last second? The answer appeared to be in the driver’s hand: he had a hand-held device with a keyboard and a screen. (I could see it because I was only a couple of feet away.)
Once I was safely on the other side of the street, a guy in a pickup truck called out to me. He’d seen the whole thing. “You should’ve hit him with your bag!” he said. I suppose I could have, but I didn’t want to sacrifice my burrito bowl to make a point. Still, with my adrenaline still racing, it was nice to know that someone was on my side (and would have been prepared to testify).
I managed to write down the license plate number, and I even took a picture of the car when it was stopped at the next light — the guy shrugged at me in a slightly exasperated “look, come on, I’m sorry” kind of way. I know it’s the holiday season, and peace and goodwill and all that, but even a day later, I’m finding forgiveness hard to come by. Maybe y’all can help me look deep into my heart, but geez … my life is more important than his text message.
And if you’ve got a near-miss to share, please do so below.
51 Responses to "Oh yeah, the other thing that happened yesterday…"
That’s a terrible intersection. I used to cross there all the time when I was going to the U years ago, and had several near misses. People making that turn just don’t seem to look for pedestrians.
Your far too kind, I would have called the police and reported them immediately… Hopefully they can at least give him a warning if not a ticket.
Glad you are ok they, hate to loose the burrito bowl 
It’s obvious that cell phones and other devices are distracting to drivers, but things like this make me wonder if they also make people more aggressive behind the wheel. I’m not sure if anyone’s studied that particular relationship, but I’d be interested to hear results for stuff like that.
I was walking to my friends place one evening last week. I was wearing my bright green winter coat. I was walking along Lowry getting ready to cross Stinson. I do not cross against lights. My family and friends love to make fun of me for this. I also done’ assume that I’m seen just because I have the walk signal.
So, the light changed green, the walking man appeared, and I looked to my left to make sure the cars on my left saw me before I stepped out. I thought the first guy in line, who was turning left, had seen me. I was wrong.
I took a step off the curb into the intersection, and the guy made his left turn at the same time, and came within 6 inches to a foot of me. He saw me only when I came into view in the passenger side window of his small SUV. It was cold and I was bundled up with a scarf covering most of my face, but the look in my eyes said it all because he immediately gave me that “Oh my god. I am so so sorry.” Look. He truly was sorry, but I pointed to my eyes with hopes of conveying to him that he needs to watch for people walking.
I was a little shaken up. It was a reminder that I need to behave as though I’m invisible. I usually have a red blinky reflector or two on my person while walking in the dark, but didn’t at the time. I won’t be forgetting those again…
In response to:
Your far too kind, I would have called the police and reported them immediately… Hopefully they can at least give him a warning if not a ticket.
The police do not care about these types of things, since you are not in a 4 wheeled vehicle. I have 3-4 of these a week as a full time bicycle commuter. Cars just do not see and do not care that you are there and they have no time or patience for you “holding them up”
When I report these to the police, I am told since they did not see it, they cannot do anything about it.
Yeah, I’ve been told the same thing, even in crashes.
I’m glad to hear that you’re still with us Roadguy. The left turning motorist is indeed one of the biggest pedestrian predators out there to be avoided.
You might not believe me, but there are some traffic engineers out there who might blame those two white lines you were walking between for this conflict. There’s theory out there that says treating intersections with cross walks give pedestrians a false sense of security and may lead them to linger in the intersection. I’m not making this stuff up.
Apparently the solution is to keep pedestrians in constant fear for their own life. That way the motorist can go about important tasks like text messaging to the Roadguy blog from behind the wheel rather than wasting time and attention on the lowly sidewalk dwellers.
Just had one of those today. 58th and Nicollet, zero-crime, safest neighborhood I have seen in decades. Daylight…
Dark maroon 4-by-4 or truck, looked hand painted in a driveway. 4-way stop. I stopped. He came to the stop a second later and stopped… but then as he waited for me to proceed on my BIKE, he slammed the accelerator, road rage and all. Very narrow escape.
Someone tried that on my wife a few months back, too.
I have come to the conclusion that until something can be done from our leaders, there is one (hopefully temporary) solution: Conceal-and-carry. Sorry to be such a nut-job, but you gotta become one to beat them.
My husband was moving his belongings on foot from one Cedar Riverside residence to another, a few blocks away.
He collects fossils, and was carrying a big box of them, crossing a street on the green light with a walk signal. A car was coming right at him, he junped back and WHOOPS, the car was pelted with rocks, some of them the size of a brick. The driver stopped to look at the damage and started yelling. Hubby picked up one of his larger rocks, shook his fist, and said “You almost hit me!” The driver decided not to pursue the subject.
Hubby carries a sturdy cane, the result of being broadsided on his motorcycle by a drunk driver. One time we were walking the dog at night, near Dinkytown, crossing a street with a walk signal. Someone decided to run the red light and would have hit our dog, if I hadn’t jerked him out of the way. M. stopped the car’s progress by raising his stick and slamming it with all his force on the hood of the culprit’s car, leaving a big dent. (Oh the recklessness of youth). The driver started getting out of his car, and M. waved his stick like a club and shouted encouragement for the man to emerge from his vehicle. The man thought better of it, and drove away.
In the past, that cane had dented a few quarter panels which were intruding on the safety of pedestrians
That was years ago, when one probably didn’t fear that the driver might not only be dangerous with pedestrians, but might also be packing a gun.
I have had a few narrow escapes on Summit avenue of all places. I will be crossing at an unsignaled crossing but within the white lines. The few times when cars will actually stop and let you cross there is always someone who swerves around to the right in between the parked cars and the car who has stopped for the pedestrian (me!) thinking that car is turning left. And theres no where to go because you are in the middle of the street. I have nearly jumped on the hood of the car that has stopped for me a few times. Scares the jeepers out of me every time. Then there was the time I nearly got mowed down by a cyclist who was screaming at me that it wasn’t a crosswalk. So what are the lines for again?
I bet he was after your Chipotle!
I think you did the right thing. No one should have to sacrifice their burrito bowl.
I bike to work during the 7 ‘warmer’ months of the year and I can second Devin’s comment. Just in September I had a lady cut me off with her SUV and try and curb me. I knocked off her side view mirror as she was trying to do this! I have been so angry after almost being hit by cars that I have seriously considered getting a gun. I haven’t. Yet. But it is very frustrating and I believe that it is a combination of cell phones/distractions and driver arrogance. The laws need to be changed (hand held cell phones) and cops need to start giving a rip rather than worrying about whether someone is going 5 mph faster than the posted limit. They should be watching for obnoxious unsafe behavior (accelerating to ‘make’ the light, cutting off peds and other boorish unsafe behavior). But Mpls cops? Forget it. They are useless.
Cyclist screaming at a pedestrian? Just when I thought it couldn’t be more crazy out there.
Roadguy- never underestimate the power of hurling your burrito bowl at an errant driver. More cathartic than posting the story here, I’d bet. Perhaps not rational though.
If Roadguy does that I will BUY him a new burrito bowl!
I’ve had the same thing happen to me many times, both while biking and while walking my dog. Throwing a bag of dog s**t at their windshield usually helps the driver see you.
Roadguy, I’m sorry you were nearly hit. Seconded on buying you a new burrito bowl, though. Near-misses are unfortunately an altogether-too-common occurrence, it seems. I don’t think a day goes by where I think drivers trying to get onto Lagoon actually see me; I always err on the side of caution and presume — usually fairly accurately — that they’re not paying attention to pedestrian traffic at all and would mow me down without a second thought. It’s pretty bad out there.
MplsMillie, I am with you with the crosswalk light obeyance (in nearly all circumstances). And I get crap from my family and friends for it too, jeers and laughter and snickers. I figure if their life is so danged important they can’t wait 2 minutes for the light to change, they’ve got other problems lying ahead for them.
jt, I loved your anecdotes about your husband’s self-protective cane usage. Excellent methodology. I wouldn’t think twice about banging down on someone’s hood if they came close enough to hitting me for me to do so… nor would I blame anybody else for doing the same if I made a similar mistake while driving.
Yes.. losing a burrito is never a good thing. But watching it splat all over an offenders windshield might just be worth it. In my younger years, the car would get a swift fist pound on the hood similar to jt’s cane story, but I’m so terrified of litigation that a burrito to the windshield is probably about as good as it gets.
FREE BURRITOS ON BARRY.
I’ve got a near miss story from a different perspective: a few nights ago I nearly struck a cyclist. He was riding the wrong way on Lake of the Isles Blvd, at 9 PM, with no helmet and no lights - and he was wearing dark clothes. Add in the glare of the tailights of the car in front of me, and I didn’t see this kid until it was too late to do anything about it. I figure I missed him by about a foot and a half. (Now that I think about it, the car in front of me didn’t even break or swerve, so I bet that driver didn’t see the cyclist at all).
Dumbest dang thing I’ve ever seen on the road, hands down, and I bike to work in the warm months so I see both sides of the equation. That kid was either drunk, or he had a deathwish.
I’m a new volunteer firefighter.
I almost got taken all the way out during my first house fire.
Our engine was parked close to the hydrant, and I was hooking up the supply line. The hydrant was on a corner and the engine was maybe 10 feet away.
Ok, so it is night, and every light is flashing and popping away on the engine. I’m doing my thing, and this moron pulls through the intersection and drives right towards me and the hydrant!
And I froze. Totally deer in the headlights. Thank God our engineer blew the air horn. Dumb a– finally looked up from his text messaging and swerved away, missing me and the hydrant by about 6 inches.
The driver never stopped; just gave us the middle finger salute and kept on driving. Our officer got his plates and called them in.
Text messaging. Live TV on your cell phone for only 15 dollars a month. Web browsers on your cell. This is why cell phone legislation will not work. Even if people could not talk while driving, there are plenty other possibly worse activites available to their moron hands. Roadguy, I would have wanted to kill him. Text messaging, web browsing, etc. are worse than talking. At least with talking their eyes are on the road, even if their brain isn’t.
I encourage everyone to follow suit: when I see a likely distracted driver– usually obvious by really slow speed (usually in left lane), swerving, no blinker, etc–I check to confirm suspected distracted status, and then I honk. They are likely too stupid to make the connection between my horn and their idiot behavior, but a girl can dream. We need to get over our polite ways and let idiots know when their driving is unacceptable. Plus, it helps my blood pressure!
At least put a posting up at http://platewire.com . It’s all in good fun.
hah Similar thing happened to me last summer. I was crossing Marquette on the north side of 8th street (traffic coming toward me) and some dude decides to cruise left on Marquette despite heavy crosswalk traffic. I jumped, landed on the guy’s hood, and slid off the drivers side. He stopped and looked dumbfounded. A bus driver stopped at the red southbound on Marquette came out and made sure I was ok, and then called the guy in. Idiots should not be able to drive.
I’ve had some close calls on my bike, but even more as a pedestrian. Car drivers just really aren’t looking for anything but other cars most of the time. If it doesn’t have headlights, they don’t see it. And if they’re using a phone or blackberry or what have you, forget it.
I always wonder what can be done. Enforcing speed limits on residential streets might help, but most of all it seems like a cultural mindset where a lot of people just don’t care about other people.
I was walking along the south side of Washington Avenue heading towards Stadium Village. I stopped at the Harvard intersection waiting for the walk signal. The signal changed and pedestrians headed out to cross Harvard, and just at that moment as the crowd was entering the street a taxi blew around the corner from Washington (eastbound) to Harvard (southbound) nearly taking out a mass of students.
I was in front of the crowd and saw this dude as he was coming around us and I let my bag of books swing out from my arms intentionally. My book bag crashed into the side of the taxi, almost as loud as a real person getting hit.
The taxi driver just kept on driving.
Of course, pedestrian crossings around campus are a whole other level of rules from the rest of the state it seems. College-age pedestrians on campus seems to behave as if different rules applied to them when crossing. Drivers through near-campus neighborhoods often get aggressive in response. This may be behind Roadguy’s encounter at Seven Corners.
2 month ago I was crossing the street on my way home from work. I was stopped at the corner and the driver had a stop sign. He had stopped an I thought he had seen me so I went ahead. He didn’t and then proceded though the intersection and hit me. At least he stopped and he does have insurance so they are paying for my injuries.
This happened to my sister when she was crossing the street (legally) at a crosswalk near MCTC and a car actually hit her. When she called and said she’d been hit we all inquired about her car, because we assumed she was actually IN a vehicle. We were shocked to find out the car had actually hit her physically. She was okay, but did have to make a trip to the hospital for some cuts and bruises. The person in the car sped off so we assume they were drunk, but that’s just one more reason I make sure to be alert while making my way across any road as a pedestrian because you can never be too careful.
That Seven Corners intersection is more awful now, because the drivers who usually commute via the 35W bridge are not following the detour up 280 and instead hanging out bumper-to-bumper on the 10th Avenue Bridge. Rude.
This just happened to me in D.C. right by Union Station (about two blocks from the Capitol). It was about 9:30 a.m. I was crossing the street with my boyfriend and my giant piece of luggage (bright blue, by the way). We got the go-ahead green light and stepped into the crosswalk. About three steps in, this silver hatchback screeches to a stop literally a foot from me. She either wasn’t paying attention or thought she could make the turn before we got into the crosswalk.
Both of us looked at the driver (a middle-aged woman), who just smiled and went on her way.
Made me wish I had been carrying a hot cup of tea so I could throw it on her hood.
There are also a lot of lights in a very short distance in that little detour - 5 to get from 35W to the 10th Ave bridge. As a student on the West Bank who used to park in the Holiday Inn lot (I take the bus from Roseville now - its just easier, and cheaper). And then there are all the people that speed along on the 10th Ave bridge - doing a good 10 to 15 mph over the posted limits. I mean, really? You’re still going to get stopped at the light on the other end, what’s the big hurry?
A very timely post. One of my co-workers was hit this morning while she was walking from the bus stop to our office. Luckly her injuries were pretty minor. She said the guy didn’t even notice he hit her.
As a pedestrian walking in any city the safe thing is to assume that a car is not going to stop and that the driver has no idea you are there. Be aware of your surroundings. To a certain extent the fact that you are almost getting hit means that you really weren’t paying attention either.
Sound advice, B, but is there anything we can take for granted anymore? As you drive down a two lane road, are we not allowed to assume the oncoming vehicle isn’t going to drift into our lane because the driver isn’t paying attention? Are we not allowed to assume that, given a green light, the intersecting road has a red and that those drivers will stop? Defensive driving is always recommended, but at what point, if at all, can we let our guard down? And before you say, “Never,” realize that it’s impossible to react to any and every unexpected scenario (dog or child running into street, front tire blowing out on the hwy, etc.). My point is, when will the pendulum swing back toward personal responsibility and accountability? How far will we allow it to swing in its current direction? Myself, faced with a similar situation as Roadguy - I would have chased down the guy who nearly hit me, pulled him out of his vehicle, and beat him senseless. I trust my adrenaline would have evened out any potential physical inequities.
Really Peter, violence? Why not just shot him? That way he will never be able to nearly run over someone again.
At what point in time was the pendulum on the side of person responsibility & accountability? It has never been there. There are just a lot more distractions available to people these days. Are there laws in place to deal with the cell phone/texting driver? If not, the laws should be changed to more aggressively punish those drivers (or even pedestrians) who cause accidents due to there distracted lifestyle.
Does anything actually happen when you call in someone’s plates? Do they get cited for reckless driving? Like an earlier poster said (may have been RG himself), if the police don’t see it, there’s not much they can do. So what exactly happens if you take the initiative to put a stop to someone’s bad driving?
I can tell you that I’m fully qualified to give the authoritative answer. I use my bike to commute, in the above freezing weather. I’ve been broadsided twice, by drivers rolling stop sign/light. They weren’t distracted, simply oblivious. The police told me 3 things that resonate with me.
1. If they don’t see it themselves, live or recorded, the police can’t get the city prosecutor to press charges.
2. Bicyclists are ranked as pedestrians, in court. If you get hit by a car/truck/UFO- the court will almost invariably rule in the cyclist’s favor. What little comfort that may end up to be.
3. We must reserve our expectation of perfection, for the Lord. Don’t enter danger zones based on faith. Ensure the other driver(s) see you, before you make your own move. Don’t “compete” to assert your rights. If you have to yield to a knuckle dragging driver too ignorant to operate their car/truck/bike/roller blades/shoes in an acceptable manner- trust me on this- YIELD! It feels worse to get pasted, than to have your pride hurt.
“Really Peter, violence? Why not just shot him?”
I think an ass-kicking is a measured response to nearly being run over. The police won’t do anything, unless possibly you were actually struck by the vehicle. And even then, there’s a good chance the person who hit you won’t stop - maybe not even notice. Good luck if there were no witnesses. You can report them, but again, what is the likely outcome of that? Cops can’t be everywhere, and certainly not when and where they’re needed. Bottom line, people are pretty much on their own out there. I hate to sound so regressive, but it really is a jungle. I’m not an overly aggressive person, generally speaking; but if you threaten or harm me or my family, especially because you’re doing something stupid - yes, I will resort to violence. Maybe the person on the receiving end will think twice next time. Think about it - if you are behaving in an extremely irresponsible and inconsiderate manner, one which can cause serious injury or death to a member of society, what would an “appropriate response” be.
So Peter, after you stop this guy and drag him out of his car and beat the hell out of him, are you going to stay and wait for the police to turn him in (along with yourself) or are you going to sneek off like the hit & run driver? Maybe I need to start carrying my gun to protect my family and myself from people who decide they are going to teach me a lesson.
Will you expect the same treatment for a mistake that you make or are you the PERFECT driver that never, ever makes a mistake?
Like I said earlier, why don’t you just shoot him… after all, you’re right, we are pretty much on their own out there.
When you mix ‘knuckle draggers’ with decent citizens it’s no different from the grade school playground. If a bully knows he can nail you–he will. If you fight back after the fact, you get detention, and the bully doesn’t.
You can’t allow yourself to be an easy target, but you absolutely cannot just go pound on someone if they made an honest human error.
There are a few that truly are willing to run down a bike or pedestrian with no regard for legalities or even damage to their own vehicles.
What counts is what you do BEFORE and during the attack. If the offender knows that you are well-prepared to respond, he will go find someone else to take out his aggression on. If he doesn’t back down, go all out on him, if you can. I won’t tell anyone.
“As a pedestrian walking in any city the safe thing is to assume that a car is not going to stop and that the driver has no idea you are there. Be aware of your surroundings. To a certain extent the fact that you are almost getting hit means that you really weren’t paying attention either.”
I could not agree more. Darwin award for peds who get hit.
Well, not in all circumstances, but I am guessing many.
“I think an ass-kicking is a measured response to nearly being run over.”
I don’t agree with you. The driver didn’t chase Roadguy down out of spite, or to be evil. He was distracted. Was it wrong? Yes. Stupid? Yes. Dangerous? Yes. But should he get beaten over it? No.
In the end, everybody was ok. Roadguy was shaken, but not hurt (nor was his burrito bowl, thank goodness). The driver didn’t hit anything/one else while swerving.
So how would beating the guy to a bloody pulp help? Other then to release some steam on your part?
If everyone beat the crap of anyone who is acting stupid… well it would anarchy!
spuzzz, I do not feel the need or desire to carry a gun. Perhaps if I engaged in the type of idiotic public behaviour that resulted in people wanting to attack me, I may re-consider. If you re-read Roadguy’s experience at the start of this, what the driver was doing could hardly be considered an “honest mistake.” The problem is, people’s (ie - driver’s) behaviour has gotten so increasingly outrageous - it makes you wonder how much worse it could possibly get. Imagine 5-10 years ago, trying to drive while typing a message on a little keyboard with a tiny screen. You’d probably think, “Who’d even try that?” And yet, there are no shortage of MORONS out there who do exactly that - and worse. And when they nearly run you over, they give you a sheepish grin, shrug of the shoulders, and dismissive “Oh well.” As far as I’m concerned, that fake “mea culpa” just isn’t good enough.
One thing we need, Pete, is to tell the diff between an attacker and just a plain ‘moron.’
Someone goes out of his way to floor it and swerve right at you intentionally… Yes, please beat him or shoot him.
BUT… If you’re gonna just pounce on anyone who has a brain-fart at the wheel, come on… Then you are just creating more trouble on the street.
Amy H said: “I could not agree more. Darwin award for peds who get hit.”
Spoken like a true knuckle dragger. At a certain point, you need to move into the danger zone of a cross walk or intersection. To spew Death Race 2000 logic for anyone not nimble enough to avoid a hit, is as abominable as thinking your drivers licence is a privilege to bully anyone who gets in the way. It will never be right, to blame the victim.
Barry, this is a very important distinction to make. Without getting inside the head of every driver who makes a mistake on the road and causes or nearly causes an accident, are there just some types of behaviour that may be considered unacceptable while driving. It’s one thing to glance at your radio as you adjust the volume or change stations. It’s far more risky to avert your eyes as you fumble with your cellphone, or use it to send or read a text message. What of the in-between distractions, such as digging something out of your purse or briefcase, or turning your head to talk to or yell at kids in the backseat? There are some distractions I would consider avoidable and inexcusable. People, especially younger less experienced drivers, simply need to take their responsibility of driving more seriously. Everyone takes driving, and the risks involved, for granted. They fail to appreciate the damage they can inflict as well as suffer. Actions have consequences! It’s time for people to realize and appreciate that, and stop being so damned selfish and self-centered when they’re out in public.
The mentality of a pedestrian has to be like that of a motorcylist or bicyclist. Everyone is out to get you. A “sorry” does you no good after you have been hit.
As far as all this false bravado about dragging people out and beating them, this only comes from people that have anger management problems or are bullies. Nobody has trouble avoiding a confrontation with someone larger, stronger and more capable than themselves. People(usually men) get agressive with smaller meeker people especially when given a convenient excuse. Stick to throwing the burrito bowl.
I’ve been waiting for this post for some time now. Every evening when I walk my dog, I almost get hit by people not stopping at crosswalks at 2 and 4-way stops. When did a stop sign become a suggestion? The big problem for most folks is the parking on the street prevents people from seeing traffic unless they pull into the crosswalk. There is a law that says you can’t park 30 feet from an opening or intersection, but no one adheres to this. Apparently no one learned to stop, look both ways, and slowly creep into the crosswalk. They just slow down, then go. I love the dog s**t suggestion. I’m totally doing that today!
STOP means “Start Texting Other People.”
Keep the dog-XXXX handy.
Roadguy,
Since you were at the bridge site and coming back with a burrito bowl, I know exactly where you were nearly run down. I’m four inches taller and usually hauling stuff around like a pack mule, yet I’m nearly run down at that corner every other day I walk through there by traffic turning on or off Cedar or Washington. Lucky thing I take the bus most days and don’t need to walk through there.
When I drive through there, I see all the backups and wonder why they don’t restripe some of the lanes and retime the arrows to get traffic through there faster because people get so frustrated and run the lights. Then I nearly get run down by people driving too fast and realize they don’t need to make excuses to have people drive even faster. They tried that for a while; traffic coming off the bridge had a dedicated lane to turn onto Washington to coincide with the left turn arrow coming the other way onto the bridge. It apparently didn’t work out and it’s back to the old arrangement. I think too many people were using it as a detour instead of going across 94 to 280 and causing backups on the bridge. So all you people marveling at the speed of 94, it’s because all the extra traffic is cutting through Seven Corners at the same speed.
Whilst out walking a part of my neighborhood that does NOT have sidewalks, I of course was walking at the side of the road, and facing oncoming traffic. A motorist of low vocabulary skills suggested that I should walk elsewhere….. he did not provide any feasible suggestions. As Bugs would say, “what a maroon!”
