the hazards of being a pedestrian

Sunday, January 11, 2009
Posted by chelsea

I actually have a few different things I could update about right now, but I feel like I've been lacking in the "ridiculous stories" department lately. So, without further ado, the latest ridiculous story...

I was walking to work in the rain the other day, carrying a bright lime green umbrella and wearing a bright orange scarf. When coming to any intersection, no matter how big or small, I almost always give the right-away to cars, even if I have a distinctly painted cross-walk inviting me to boldly cross without caution. Well, on this particularly dreary day, most cars were giving me the wave (I'm sure they felt bad for me having to walk in in the cold rain as they were warm and cozy in their cars) and I might have grown a bit careless because of this. I reached one of the last intersections before I turned onto South Street, and looked to my left. There was a car, coming, but slowing down very quickly...so I began to dash across the street, figuring I'd have plenty of time to cross, even if they weren't too keen on letting me.

It just so happens that the road this car was about to cross was a one-way, with cars only coming from the left...and I was coming from the right. The driver of this car had his head craned to the left to see if any approaching cars were coming, and when he saw there were none, he hit the gas without even turning to look straight ahead, which is exactly where I was at that moment. Luckily, I realized what was happening just seconds before it actually did, and I pivoted just a bit. So, as the car hit my legs, instead of having any real impact, it just caused me to bend over and fall onto the hood of the car, slapping it with my hand for support, which also served to alert the negligent driver.

When the driver heard me hit the hood, he immediately stopped and looked over in horror. I made eye contact with him, stood upright and began to walk past the car. As soon as I had cleared the bumper, he glared viciously, gave me the middle finger, and sped off.

I should also mention that this was a fairly older man with a disability tag hanging from his rear view mirror. I stood there in shock for a moment, mulling over what had just happened. Then I headed to work and immediately related the story to anyone who would listen.

Now I can check "get hit by a car" off my list of ridiculous things that have happened to me.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I told Dave about this incident and he said, "Her life is ridiculous." I'm inclined to agree.

I hope your list doesn't keep growing, though it does make you a very interesting person. ^_^

Anonymous said...

I told Dave about this incident and he said, "Her life is ridiculous." I'm inclined to agree.

I hope your list doesn't keep growing, though it does make you a very interesting person. ^_^