Reprinted with permission from Madeline Bost (from Madeline Bost's Running Column)
In the age of distracted driving it is beyond understanding that people tie up their sneakers and go out for a run with their back to traffic. I have a ring side view of runners with my office on the second floor of my house and a large corner window. Now that the West Morris Greenway has become so well known and popular with Roxbury and Randolph runners I see more and more runners coming down Pleasant Hill Road to access the off road trails. Pleasant Hill Road has only a narrow shoulder or no shoulder at all. Yet I see people with their heads down, maybe even with ear buds blocking the sounds of oncoming traffic, trustingly running with their backs to traffic.
Saturday’s race in Denville was renamed the Ryan Steidl Memorial race because Steidl lost his battle for life after being struck from behind while running on the right side of the road. We have had other cases of people being hit from behind. William Wright was possibly the most well know victim. Back in 1997 Wright was running with his back to traffic on Route Ten in Randolph. In the pre-dawn light Wright was wearing reflective gear and lights, but the driver that struck him was distracted by a tail-gaiting truck. With his attention in his rear view mirror, he moved to the shoulder to let the truck pass and did not see Wright who he struck and killed.
I am fortunate now that I can run off road but when I was running more often on the roads around my Ironia home I recall several times when I had to jump sideways out of the road so as to be missed by an oncoming car. Yes, those cars might have given me a wide berth, but what if the drivers were blinded by the sun, distracted by the radio, kids or pets. No, I am safe because I was facing them and could see when I needed to make that jump off the road and out of danger.
In the age of distracted driving it is beyond understanding that people tie up their sneakers and go out for a run with their back to traffic. I have a ring side view of runners with my office on the second floor of my house and a large corner window. Now that the West Morris Greenway has become so well known and popular with Roxbury and Randolph runners I see more and more runners coming down Pleasant Hill Road to access the off road trails. Pleasant Hill Road has only a narrow shoulder or no shoulder at all. Yet I see people with their heads down, maybe even with ear buds blocking the sounds of oncoming traffic, trustingly running with their backs to traffic.
Saturday’s race in Denville was renamed the Ryan Steidl Memorial race because Steidl lost his battle for life after being struck from behind while running on the right side of the road. We have had other cases of people being hit from behind. William Wright was possibly the most well know victim. Back in 1997 Wright was running with his back to traffic on Route Ten in Randolph. In the pre-dawn light Wright was wearing reflective gear and lights, but the driver that struck him was distracted by a tail-gaiting truck. With his attention in his rear view mirror, he moved to the shoulder to let the truck pass and did not see Wright who he struck and killed.
I am fortunate now that I can run off road but when I was running more often on the roads around my Ironia home I recall several times when I had to jump sideways out of the road so as to be missed by an oncoming car. Yes, those cars might have given me a wide berth, but what if the drivers were blinded by the sun, distracted by the radio, kids or pets. No, I am safe because I was facing them and could see when I needed to make that jump off the road and out of danger.