Was almost hit by a car. They did not stop for me at a stop sign. I hit the car with my palm. The car follows me down the block. They roll down their window and ask me who I am. I threaten to call the police and tell them nothing. They say they did not see me and also say it was dangerous to hit their car. They say who they are... the president of my college. My college has 2500 students, not many students exercise, and I think the president recognized me. WTF do I do?
Nothing. You're allowed to use your palms to push away from a car that's about to run into you.
Just don't wear your shorts/ tights combo for the next few weeks.
Try and forget about it. Some people are d***s. Plain and simple.
Similar situation happened to me last year, the truck rolled through the stop sign and then accelerated right into me. I was lucky enough to jump and land on their hood instead of going under the truck but it still did a little damage. I think the best thing to do is to just relax over the situation, accept that he was driving like an ass and none of it was your fault, and realize that even if he did know exactly who you are there's not much he can do about it. It's not like he's going to not let you graduate because he blew a stop sign
Keeping in mind this a world famous message board with world famous trolls and this whole account could be invented, I would say in the event that it's true that you have little to worry about. University presidents are highly political animals, he or she has more at risk than you do if this escalates and your version of the narrative up being told publicly. I'm curious - how many years worth of tuition did their car cost?
Ignore them. If he didn't yield to a pedestrian at a stop sign, and almost hit you because of it, then HE was in the wrong, not you. Let him call the cops.
This happens more often than it should to me. I run in light colors, approach cars with caution when I need to cross in front of them, but it seems like people are just too lazy or distracted to look both ways these days. Apart from rainbows shooting out of my butt, I don't know what else I can do to make myself visible. I had to roll Dukes of Hazzard-style across the hood of one dumb bimbo's car, otherwise i'd be underneath it and dead right now.
Just be glad it didn't hit you. They were in the wrong if they didn't stop at a stop sign. I doubt they'll do anything so don't worry about it.
You are *completely* in the right. You should be bold and not hide behind happened. I would make an appointment with the President, as can be done at most small colleges. Request that he make an apology and, if he does not, write a letter to the school newspaper. I had a very similar experience to this when I was in high school with my chemistry teacher. He blew through a crosswalk, I kicked his passenger door, and he chased me. When he recognized me he was kind of shocked, but tried to assume he was correct and that he could intimidate me into thinking I had done something wrong. I called his blluff and dialed 911. I figured the worst that could happen is I would be cited for something minor, but he would get mentioned (and shamed) in the police report. My gamble paied off; his car had not passed inspection and it was towed away, and he was given a stern warning about not obeying cross walks. My point to you here is this; be bold and stand by your rights and be willing to face the chance of some consequences when you are facing the greater indifference of careless and aggressive driving. These drivers are a menace to us all, and we need to have some backbone in confronting them. Best of luck to you and all runners.
Here is a pretty detailed account of what happened to me in a situation that has some similarities (I post as both did and vig in the thread which is sort of confusing) Long story short - I wouldn't pursue a meeting with the president but I also wouldn't worry about the president tracking you down
http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=4490488&page=0
Last winter, I almost got hit by a car. What happened was I was running and the car was at the stop sign. The driver, who was an old asian guy, was not looking at what was in front of him (me). He was looking at the side of the road because he was going to make a right turn. Had to use my hand to prevent the car from hitting me and also ran as fast as I could for a few seconds. His daughter was really mad at him and she apologized to me.
If that happen to me again, I would of yell at the guy. I also would of punch or kick the car. I did thought about doing it, but I figured I wasn't strong enough to do it and I don't want to get injured.
I almost get hit by cars almost all the time. The drivers are mostly old folks.
I know what I'd do. I'd say he followed me, tried to lure me into his car. Said sexually explicit things, and show police some signs of anger and fear that this man is a PERVERT!!!
letsdoit!!! wrote:
If that happen to me again, I would of yell at the guy. I also would of punch or kick the car. I did thought about doing it, but I figured I wasn't strong enough to do it and I don't want to get injured.
There's no point punching or kicking the car. That's different to slamming it with your hand to make him aware you're there. He didn't chase you and try to mow you down on purpose. If you punch the car your hand is likely to come off worse. Is it worth a broken hand? Just yell at him.
People are not getting this right at all.
The issue is he ran into or was hit - depending how you look into it - the president's car.
He admits to hitting the car with his palm. The president asked for his name. He didn't give it. The president likely didn't like his car getting hit (or worried he was injured) - most non-runners don't realize how scary it is to almost get it. Most drivers assume that runners are just going to stop at intersections as the runner clearly can see what is happening, is paying attention, etc. They aren't used to elite runners just rolling through stopselves themselves.
This could be a big issue. I'd suggest you go in today and tell your coach. He or she can figure out how to set up a meeting with the president or smooth things over. Hey one of my runners was concerned. He thought you didn't see him, almost got it, was scared and sort of slapped the car. Is everything ok??
You don't want your team to get a bad rep.
At Cornell, some higher up (Dean or something) almost nailed a kid at night on a run when it was 5 pm and totally dark and December. THe administrator was comming up a hill, the kid was running on the side of the road, etc. No one was really at fault, he just was shocked to see a runner in the total darkness. After that, everyone on the team had to wear reflective vests when they ran in the dark.
rojo wrote:
This could be a big issue. I'd suggest you go in today and tell your coach. He or she can figure out how to set up a meeting with the president or smooth things over. Hey one of my runners was concerned. He thought you didn't see him, almost got it, was scared and sort of slapped the car. Is everything ok??
You don't want your team to get a bad rep.
I modify my suggestion and second this.
I'm not saying you were at fault, but I always assume a driver doesn't see me. (even if he's looking directly at me.)
I always run behind a car that's either stopped or approaching a stop sign. It doesn't matter if the driver is wrong when he hits you...You may be in the right but you've still been hit.
I drove a cab for 5 years and delivery vans for 10 years. When you're looking out for other vehicles it's easy to miss seeing a runner, walker or bicyclist. Unless it's a good looking female.
Trollpost rating 7/10, a number of truly passionate responses, but I don't think you went far enough. Should've said something about getting your tuition paid for by the school, would've elicited better debate over something that clearly never happened
These are all good suggestions, but I am a grad student at the school, out of eligibility, and I do not think the President recognized me. I think it is probably best to lie low for a while. FYI... the President is female, and formerly served in the House of Representatives for New Mexico (1998-2009). She is also on the board of directors for several international engineering corporations. If she did recognize me, my future academic career at this school will be very short.
Morethanhypothetical wrote:
These are all good suggestions, but I am a grad student at the school, out of eligibility, and I do not think the President recognized me. I think it is probably best to lie low for a while. FYI... the President is female, and formerly served in the House of Representatives for New Mexico (1998-2009). She is also on the board of directors for several international engineering corporations. If she did recognize me, my future academic career at this school will be very short.
So you go to South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and you are 1 of just under 400 people in their grad school.
Well if you didn't want us to know that you got to the South Dakota School of Mines and that it was Heather Wilson that almost hit you...
....well now we know.
If you aren't on the dean's list for the rest of your college career, you played this wrong.