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I don't think this woman should view anything as 100% safe. Now adays, companies hire anyone, just b/c security companies hire people to drive around these neighborhoods, doesn't mean they can't be bad intended people. Just my thoughts....I think it's always wise to be cautious instead of assuming.
Very true, there is a missing persons' case near my hometown and while they haven't come out and said it, it appears they are looking at a security guard who used to be employed at the same place she was. I also knew a security guard who was fired for sexually harassing women at the job (making inappropriate remarks mostly), this was in another state but still. Having a guard card or whatever doesn't make someone automatically a good person (or a bad person of course)
Well I don't jog in the dark but I have been known to be out on my bike until 3am. I have great lights front and back. Jogging on a busy road in the dark is an accident waiting to happen. I prefer late night bike rides because I rarely see another soul and maybe just a couple of cars. There's not much you can do about other peoples lives. I guess some would think I was crazy for doing what I do too, but I love the solitude and the darkness. I was born a night owl.
I've jogged in the road for years with no problem. It's up to the jogger to make sure they don't get hit and I always jog on the left side of the road so I can see oncoming traffic. Honestly I wouldn't worry about what other people are doing.. it's hard enough to change my own behavior much less other people's.
My favorite thing to do 10 years ago when my mother's lab/retriever was still alive was do a midnight jog on her acreage with only the full moon for light and have the dog accompany me.. I would not run across a single car as it was on gravel roads and the dog had a blast running around with me.
For the most part, I will pick the sidewalk because the roads around where I live are just too highly traffiked to safely run during the day. I will run in the road with a (well lit, no earbud) group of people some early mornings before dawn. A few neighborhoods around here don't have sidewalks and when I run through those, I run AGAINST traffic. If I'm in the road, it's my responsibility to make sure I can get out of the way if an oncoming car does not see me.
As for running at night alone...occasionally some of my runs finish in darkness due to the time of year, but it is something I try and avoid.
I am glad I have dirt trails near my house! Especially after reading some of these responses jeez. The trails are certainly not well lit though.
I've jogged in the road for years with no problem. It's up to the jogger to make sure they don't get hit and I always jog on the left side of the road so I can see oncoming traffic. Honestly I wouldn't worry about what other people are doing.. it's hard enough to change my own behavior much less other people's.
My favorite thing to do 10 years ago when my mother's lab/retriever was still alive was do a midnight jog on her acreage with only the full moon for light and have the dog accompany me.. I would not run across a single car as it was on gravel roads and the dog had a blast running around with me.
have you jogged on the road in the dark?
no matter what you think, if your jogging on the road in the dark, your increasing your chances of getting hit.
When your young you don't see the danger as easily.
I'm not only worried about the jogger, but what about the driver who didn't see her or him and hit them...now, live with that the rest of your life....My God, I don't know that I could survive life, if I hit someone and killed them. so there is more here to consider then the self. Accidents happen and there is more here at stake then pleasing the self to consider. Awareness!
Sure,
I used to run extensively in the remote central Texas Hill Country. The Edwards Escarpment. By night.
It was amazing. Unlike anywhere else I have run.
The Population density back then in central Texas was 1 and 1\2 persons per square mile. It would always be very dark and as black as pitch out because the area was entirely without development and so without city light diffusion because the area was so totally, a rural area and at least 25 miles from any city. This wilderness was without any sounds or light out there except for the sound of my footfalls. Once in a great while I could hear a critter out scurrying around in the brush next to Tx State Highway FM 46 but other than that the quiet was complete. There was an immense joy in running out there. One could run with complete abandon by either starlight or moonlight with barely any visibility and it was very literally, void of any sound and the atmosphere- clear of contamination. It was only me and my determination and distance was not an impediment because there no sense of time or distance when the senses register so little . I found the experience amazing and the total opposite of gymnasium activity. I ran farther than I ever thought I could in that environment.
Automobiles very, very rarely would appear so there was never, never an issue with being hit because I could hear the car approaching and see the only lights out there from so far away as it was approaching.
That the young lady should use the sidewalk if traffic is heavy where she runs, yes, is certain.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cremebrulee
Reason I ask, is, every morning, there is this young woman jogging in the road, not on the sidewalk, but in the road, and by Gosh, I certainly hope not, but I fear someone is going to hit her? Especially with people and their noses in their phones...geeze....
no matter what you think, if you're jogging on the road in the dark, you're increasing your chances of getting hit.
When you're young you don't see the danger as easily.
I'm not only worried about the jogger, but what about the driver who didn't see her or him and hit them...now, live with that the rest of your life....My God, I don't know that I could survive life, if I hit someone and killed them. so there is more here to consider then the self. Accidents happen and there is more here at stake then pleasing the self to consider. Awareness!
If the driver can't see what they're doing any better than that, they have no business driving anywhere to anything ever.
I can understand, if the roads are busy enough and it's dark, a jogger or cyclist etc taking steps towards ensuring their visibility via fluorescent-colored clothing, extra lighting, reflectors etc, but a person shouldn't have to not jog at all except during the heat of the day because of people not watching what they're doing. Accidents happen, yes, but a person is responsible for watching where they're going, and especially if the given road is a secluded road, by George I personally am going to make full use of it and not be intimidated.
One topic I like to address which often-times comes into play with activities such as this--ratrunning. This is when you have a secluded country road in the rural areas or a "side street" in the city areas, roads clearly not meant to handle large volumes of traffic, roads mainly meant for the residents of the road to be able to take life easy and enjoy themselves walking their dogs or pushing their babies in the strollers etc, but the road ends up becoming busy-ish due to people in the area who don't live on the road using it as a shortcut alternative to the "main" roads that ARE meant for heavy traffic usage. To me this is an unethical practice, even if one legally can use the road no matter who they are, regardless to me if they don't LIVE on those roads or are visiting someone who is, they have no business being back there.
Yet people see no harm in making such roads busy just to save half a mile on their work commute, and then they complain about joggers and cyslists. TOUGH LUCK, I say. As I've said when I've been that jogger/cyclist "I live on this road, what's your excuse for being here?" I'm serious. I don't care that the roads are paid for by the taxpayers and aren't private, I think outsiders should stay off of those roads anyway. People move there specifically to GET AWAY from huge volumes of traffic and they are right to do so. On top of that, many times such roads have extra slow speed limits and "traffic calming" measures such as speed humps or making the roads dead-end so they don't link up two "main" roads together, measures which are employed specifically to discourage excessive traffic and to tailor-make the atmosphere for the benefit of the residents of the area, and I applaud that fully.
If someone is jogging on a "main" route, I do think they need to take extra care and ensure their visibility to others and to stick to the sidewalks or jogging paths if there are any, but if they are jogging on a secluded road, motorists can get the heck over it and watch what they're doing, and if they don't live back there, STAY OUT of there by and large.
Sure,
I used to run extensively in the remote central Texas Hill Country. The Edwards Escarpment. By night.
It was amazing. Unlike anywhere else I have run.
The Population density back then in central Texas was 1 and 1\2 persons per square mile. It would always be very dark and as black as pitch out because the area was entirely without development and so without city light diffusion because the area was so totally, a rural area and at least 25 miles from any city. This wilderness was without any sounds or light out there except for the sound of my footfalls. Once in a great while I could hear a critter out scurrying around in the brush next to Tx State Highway FM 46 but other than that the quiet was complete. There was an immense joy in running out there. One could run with complete abandon by either starlight or moonlight with barely any visibility and it was very literally, void of any sound and the atmosphere- clear of contamination. It was only me and my determination and distance was not an impediment because there no sense of time or distance when the senses register so little . I found the experience amazing and the total opposite of gymnasium activity. I ran farther than I ever thought I could in that environment.
Automobiles very, very rarely would appear so there was never, never an issue with being hit because I could hear the car approaching and see the only lights out there from so far away as it was approaching.
That the young lady should use the sidewalk if traffic is heavy where she runs, yes, is certain.
yes, well, I can relate to your post, b/c way back then, I used to ride my horses in the dark...and carried a flash light b/c there were very few cars on the roads, now though, there is 10 times the traffic and wouldn't attempt it.
I used to jog 7 days a week, but never would I attempt to jog at night on a road.....in the dark...where there was much traffic...
I am not kidding when I say, sometimes you cannot see the jogger on a dark back road, until your right on them, even if they wear those lights. Now some of them blink, which are great, you then put your attention on those lights saying, "What are they", but at least you can see them and are aware.
And yes, I totally get what your saying about the complete and utter quiet....love it myself....but....for me, I wouldn't attempt it today...just b/c of all the large box trucks....that I drive behind, and can't even see the traffic lights when they are in front of me.
But I'm older, and when your older you are aware so much more of dangers that you never thought of when you were younger.
And today, people drive way to fast for conditions and
they are always playing on their cells and swerve off and on the roads....
I was curious so I did some googling. While I couldn't find stats on "getting hit by a car in the dark while running," the odds though of as a pedestrian getting hit by a car and dying are about 1:47,273, which seems to be very close to the odds of dying in a car accident (1:47,718). So maybe none of us should ever leave our house then if it's so dangerous....
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Running in the dark,
