Boilermaker and Beyond

It’s that time of year when the deer get frisky and the driving gets risky.

The combination of the sun rising later/ setting earlier, wet leaves on the roads, and dark furred creatures running all over the place create a potentially dangerous situation.

Guess what, there’s more than deer on those streets; often there are runners.

I have a little advice for both parties (no, not the deer).

To drivers:

Slow down! You are captaining two tons of metal down the road. The ability for you to react is tough enough in dark, wet conditions; more speed= less reaction time.

Don’t be distracted. Non-hands free cell phone use and texting while driving is illegal. Trying to eat a breakfast sandwich while your combing your hair using the rear view mirror while driving is just plain foolish.

Be aware. Runners, like deer, frequently travel in groups; not hitting three out of four is not a good thing.

To runners:

Wear reflective gear/ light clothing. Those darn deer simply refuse to dress appropriately but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. Reflective gear is cheap and not constraining; also there are some nice ‘miner lights’ you can wear to illuminate the area in front of you.

Run against traffic- A couple of weeks ago at dusk I saw a runner running with traffic in dark clothing with ear buds on. I was praying she had her affairs in order.

Practice courtesy: Don’t run two or three abreast if you see a car coming, you’re just asking for trouble.

Hitting a deer is a sad occasion that will probably entail an expensive visit to the body shop.

Hitting a fellow human is a tragedy that will cause immense, immense suffering.

To my running friends, never assume anything; remember you are sharing the roads with some big mechanical beasts. Will it make you feel good knowing on your gravestone they wrote; “he had the right of way’?