That’s what I call the period between 3pm and 4pm. It’s a time I refuse to be on the roads, either running or bike riding, without a serious death wish. It’s the time when mother’s scurry to schools in the area to pick up their little treasures.
Like most kids of my era, we walked to school, usually with friends, and we thought nothing of the 6k return trip each day. The dangers lurking around were prevalent in those days too yet it seems mandatory for children to be driven to school these days, usually in massive 4WD’s with matching chrome bullbars.
While most parents are responsible and cautious on the road, you have a minority who use it as a race track, or worse, doing it while on a mobile phone even though the penalty for this is quite severe. Even worse are those who nibble the bottle through the day and then head off to pick up their kids and this isn’t an isolated case either.
A couple of days ago, I made the mistake of running on a quiet, back road during Death Hour and was confronted by a Ford Explorer being driven towards me by a woman on a mobile phone totally oblivious to my existence. Since there are few footpaths in OG, you run towards the traffic and cars usually give you plenty of room when passing but this cretin drove straight at me and I had to dive into the bushes to avoid two tonnes of rampaging metal. She at least had the grace to stop after I gave he a verbal volley and a waving fist and got out of the vehicle and said,”Sorry, I didn’t see you”. I told her to tell that to coroner when she kills the next person.
Going west for the weekend to ride the Port Fairy to Warrnambool Rail Trail which we’ve been told has just been completed.
Probably get run down by a drunken Thomas the Tank Engine!
I don’t think people will stop using their phones while driving. It’s scary and those of us who don’t do it, have to be extra careful these days.
Correct. By the way, good to see you back on the air.
Last Dec it was made illegal to drive while using any kind of hand held electronic communication device, cell phone, texting etc. There was a 3 month grace period where police would stop you if they saw you, but no charges laid, just a warning. It’s been law here since Feb but people are still doing it. I see people on phones all the time. It’s easy to get one of those phones that hangs on your ear, but people are not doing it.
Last winter a woman was talking on her cell and went off the road into the frozen canal, both woman and baby son drowned.
I see them texting every day and the message is lost on them. Hang a few from the town square and they might start taking notice.
BTW met up with your blog buddy from Nain Bay last week on their way from labrador to OZ, pix on my blog, terrific people.
I did see that.
I nearly got hit by a woman in a carpark once who was texting. She couldn’t understand why I was still having a go at her after she apologised. Perhaps it was the fact she still had the phone in her hand, making the apology completely null and void.
Oh, and don’t get me started on women who drive straight through pedestrian crossings in carparks, as long as you aren’t in their lane yet. I’ve dented a few cars that way.
We have two pedestrian crossings here in OG and most people drive right through even with mothers with prams crossing. Makes me mad. Need flashing lights and residents with some brains.
I’m amazed at how many people who couldn’t drive their thumb up their a$$ have come to the conclusion that they can drive 70mph and text message simultaneously. I only hope when they die that they don’t take any innocents with them.
A couple of years back, a young lawyer going to work near here was texting and wandered into the bike lane and killed a young guy. Amazingly she avoided jail. Life’s cheap even in our countries.
Stick to the beach and unused rail trails. Have a great weekend.
You have to use the roads sometimes especially while running but I try and limit my exposure to the deadly forces.