I got HIT by a car while running!

[Pequenita]

hellfire and damnation. I got HIT by a car driving forward out of a driveway this morning while I was running on the sidewalk. On my left (knee surgery) side. She basically stopped into me because the car was still moving forward after she struck me. As luck would have it, the driver yelled at me for not stopping and looking both ways before crossing the driveway. Dude, that's why you're supposed to stop before the sidewalk, look for pedestrians and idiot runners like me, and then inch up to the road to look for cars!!

I'm fine - I basically said, "Ahhh!", spun forward (in slo-mo, Matrix-style) to face the hood (and probably scratched it with my key -- serves her right), stared at her until she opened her car door to talk with her, told her I was okay (because if I was a driver, I'd be terrified I'd hurt someone), and then ran the last mile home. I'm a bad personal injury plaintiff.

 

[Jilly]

Glad you're OK. Maybe this little incident will wake HER up. I know that I had something similar happen a few months ago and I was the driver. Nobody hurt, but it woke me up to notice everything that is going on. (I still say the guy was waiting for me to enter an intersection and rode his bike out in front of me. There are people who are trying to stay in this country on your insurance payouts!) Next time tell her to have her coffee before she gets in the car!!

 

[ski diva]

Never ceases to amaze me how some people can be such numbskulls -- especially once they get behind the wheel! It's like they switch off their brains as soon as they switch on the ignition. So glad to hear you're okay. That driver is incredibly lucky you are, too -- she could've been looking at a major lawsuit, court dates, loss of her license, even jail time! I love how she runs into you and you get yelled at.

People are just as bad with cyclists on the road. Most of the time, no problem. But every once in a while you run into some idiot who refuses to give you any room or acts like you have no right to be there. Dontcha love it??

 

[Kimmyt]

Wow, glad you're okay! I can't believe that idiot yelled at you, although it was probably as much of a reaction to being freaked out as anything. This happened to me the other day while running during my lunch break. A few of us went up the roads and passed an exit from a development. Saw a car waiting to go, and as there was no traffic and he was still stopped, we figured he must have seen us (we were running very slow as a warm up and the guy wasn't going even though there was a gap in traffic.) I was the last one to cross, the others had already passed in front of him (!!) and he pulls out, and up onto the hood I jumped. Luckily he must have seen us just in time since he wasn't going very fast and I'm sure he was scared out of his mind. I yelled some curses and kept on going. As much as it sucks, I know that when you're a car sometimes you just don't see the forest for the trees. It's made my driving much more aware, and I just hope that people learn that cars aren't the only things that belong on the roads (don't even get me started on cars vs. bikes...)

K.

 

[tradygirl]

That's so scary!! You really do have to be on the defensive all the time whether on your bike or as a pedestrian. With cell phones, Ipods, radios, and fast food, drivers are usually so zoned out. I swear that it's the "benign" sports, like running and road biking, that are the most dangerous!

(don't even get me started on cars vs. bikes...)

K.

I have no problem getting that discussion started....:D

When I was road biking a lot, I realized why most experienced riders always told me that it was only a matter of time before I got hit by a car. Never happened (thank god), but I had so many close calls! I don't know how many times someone would pull up from a side street (usually turning right) and not even look before pulling out right in front of me. I got pretty good at slapping hoods and screaming obscenities.

And rednecks in big trucks that hate bikes, especially with WOMEN on them, is a whole other discussion too! Anybody else ever get their butt slapped while running or biking?? Gotta tell ya, it's quite the turn on. :mad:

 

[Marigee]

Glad you are okay Pequenita! I run along a busy road and have had a couple close calls with cars and driveways - never been hit though. Even though the driver should stop at the sidewalk and look before entering the road they don't always do what they should.

 

[Sheena]

Geez! Divers are nuts! When I was in DC, and walking to work basically everyday, I lost track of the times that I was almost hit. The most recent one, right before I left, I was crossing a crosswalk, and the driver must not have been paying attention, and I guess decided that it would be OK to just roll through the stop sign. She came inches from hitting me, and when she saw me in front of her, she took her hands off the wheel and held them in front of her, as if that would prevent her from hitting me. luckily, I was able to run out of her way.

Amazing reaction from the driver who hit you though. People never cease to amaze me.

 

[abc]

I'm glad you are okay, Pequenita.

The problem isn't entirely the driver. Yes, they should all be careful. But the road design leaves a lot to be desired.

Driveways with trees on both sides: how do you suppose the driver see a runner or cyclist crossing?

Streets with no side walk: where do PEOPLE walk?

Bike path that crosses roads with, again, trees: how do either bikers or drivers see each other?

A few years back, I got hit, while biking, by a car that was zooming for a parking slot. First, she yelled at me. But after calming down, she was perfectly civilized. Turned out she's from a cyclist family and had no problem with bikes...

Trouble is, street side parking can open up any moment. A driver looking for parking spot simply don't see a cyclist riding parallel to the car (especially on the passenger side)! Without the parking, both bikes and cars keep going forward and both are safe. And cars getting in and out of parking spot create just as many fender-benders too!

The road and urban design in this country was so catered to couch patatos, anyone NOT in a car are always in danger of being hit by a driver's momentary inattention.

 

[Ski Spirit]

Pequenita,
Glad to hear you're ok; what a morning! I was on a road bike trip with a group of people and was nearly run off the road by a trucker. Every person in the group said they had the same experience! In this case, it sounds like the woman was just unconscious....anyway glad to hear you weren't hurt!!

 

[SnowHot]

This is another thing classified under WOW!
I am not surprised you got hit, because so many drivers just don't pay attention. I see this kind of close call all the time on my bike.
I am surprised that you are okay, and more surprised that she didn't seem more sympathetic.

Glad you're okay. Hope this woman knows how lucky she is.

 

[Pequenita]

Thanks, everyone. Sorry to hear all these other narrow escapes from cars, too!

I went back to the incident scene last night after work to see if I could find the driver and also to see just what exactly was there. First, shockingly, none of the runners and pedestrians I observed were stopping at the alley to look both ways before crossing it, like the driver had said was the thing I should have done. Go figure.

I learned that the alley leads to parking for 1) residents of houses that front the street, and 2) workers at a retirement home that faces the other street. The time that I was hit was approximately the time the overnight shift at the retirement home ends. I believe that she was driving way too fast for the alley, given that there was never a sudden stop of the car (it didn't lurch after hitting me), and in fact, it was still moving into me when I faced the car. My impression was that she was aiming to stop at the road, and not at the sidewalk. There's definitely shrubbery that would have blocked her view from me, but to me that's just more indication that she should have stopped at the sidewalk first. Alas.


View from the alley, into the street and sidewalk (conveniently with a pedestrian):

View from alley, closer to the street:

My view from sidewalk, in the direction I was headed:

Reverse angle:

 

[Pequenita]

lol. Last night I figured out the pace I was running this day: it was the first time I had done a training "easy" piece at under 10 minutes/mile. And that included the time it took me to get hit, etc.

 

[num]

I'm a bit late to the party, but still very glad to hear that you're not injured.

I'm in the camp of people who've had similar close calls, and one that actually resulted in injury. That ****ing SUV, the driver didn't even notice me get hit by the hood and roll off, probably wouldn't've noticed at all if I hadn't banged on the passenger side door and yelled.

 

[pinto]

Hey, where is that exactly? (I used to live in DC)

 

[Sheena]

Hey, where is that exactly? (I used to live in DC)

I was wondering the same thing, it looks like maybe Georgetown or possible Eastern Marke?

 

[Pequenita]

Num - how does one actually not notice that they hit something? Amazing.

It's in Georgetown, on P street, just west of the P Street bridge that goes over Rock Creek Pkway. Here's a link to the google map.