That's so awful - I'll send good thoughts Jess' way. The warning about cars is such an important one, from both sides. I remember when I was in high school an elementary school student was killed riding his bike when he cut across a road mid-block from out behind some bushes. The driver was in her 20s, and I remember feeling so horrible for her. I'm pretty sure she wasn't at fault, but I can't imagine how hard living with that kind of thing must be.
I've been in so many near collisions (both walking and riding buses, plus being hit on my bike the one time) that I think I'm a lot more cautious than a lot of people. A lot of times drivers don't look at crosswalks if they have the light, or pull across crosswalks from blind allies (which is how I got hit on my bike). I think we just take cars for granted because they're everywhere, forgetting that they are amazingly dangerous.
Thanks, Megan, for the thoughts to Jess and the virtual hugs. Peter obviously has been the more upset of the two of us, as he knew them both a lot better than I did, but he's been up at the memorial service in Portland, and I've been alone at home thinking my thoughts.
And yeah... it's easy to get distracted or just not be looking, either as a pedestrian or a driver, especially if you're talking to a friend. My aunt and I were driving, and I'd just finished telling her the story, and she almost hit a kid on a bike, because she was pulling into a parking lot and he was riding his bike on the sidewalk. Fortunately I said "Uh, speaking of which..." and she saw him and stopped and it was all fine.
I'm glad you weren't hit. I hope that they add a frickin light there, just a pedestrian light that blinks when people are crossing. That could have made all the difference.
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I've been in so many near collisions (both walking and riding buses, plus being hit on my bike the one time) that I think I'm a lot more cautious than a lot of people. A lot of times drivers don't look at crosswalks if they have the light, or pull across crosswalks from blind allies (which is how I got hit on my bike). I think we just take cars for granted because they're everywhere, forgetting that they are amazingly dangerous.
Big virtual hugs to both you and Peter.
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And yeah... it's easy to get distracted or just not be looking, either as a pedestrian or a driver, especially if you're talking to a friend. My aunt and I were driving, and I'd just finished telling her the story, and she almost hit a kid on a bike, because she was pulling into a parking lot and he was riding his bike on the sidewalk. Fortunately I said "Uh, speaking of which..." and she saw him and stopped and it was all fine.
But... it's so easy.
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My best wishes to the families and friends.
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And thanks for your wishes.
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