by Raeanne Guzzi

Created on: February 26, 2009

Jogging on the roads is not safe by any means, especially where I live. Most people are speeding, not paying attention because they are on their cell phone, disciplining their kids, eating, etcetera.

Despite all of that, in the area I live in, there are a number of people who jog on the road. It does cause many traffic hazards. One of them is someone may have to cross the double yellow line to avoid hitting the jogger. In some instances, this may mean slowing down or coming to a stop, due to oncoming traffic coming from the opposite direction. If a motorist has to come to a complete stop on short notice, he or she risks getting rear ended by a vehicle behind him or her.

There are other times where there are a number of people jogging together, and either they are oblivious to approaching vehicles, and/or they just do not care all that much.
This causes lots of traffic problems.

If a jogger is on the roads at or around dawn or dusk, that can pose another traffic hazard. If the jogger is not wearing reflective clothing, it will be hard for any motorists to see them jogging. I have noticed that a number of joggers like to wear black.
How the heck are you supposed to see someone in black when it is dark out?!

Where I live, there are lots of winding roads and a few hairpin turns. Joggers who decide to jog on the road pose a serious safety hazard, not only for the motorist but the jogger themselves. Sometimes there are mirrors that are put on a telephone poll so that drivers can see around the turn, but it is still hard to see someone at the last minute around on a road that has a lot of curves.

Joggers need to understand that motorists are traveling at a relatively fast rate of speed and cannot slow down just because they decide that they want to jog on the side of the road.
They need to take certain steps to make it safer for everyone. The roads are for cars and not people! That is what they make sidewalks for! If there isn't a sidewalk on the road that a jogger wants to jog on, they can find another road that does have a sidewalk. If that doesn't work, there are usually parks where people can jog through.
In my area, there is a special trail where people can jog, walk, ride their bikes, etcetera.

Joggers need to exercise a little common sense when deciding where and when to jog. A little thought will go a long way to making everyone safe and happier.

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