Karma, indeed...
I believe many of us have had the terrifying experience of walking along on the sidewalk and seeing a bicycle heading straight toward us. My response has often been to simply freeze. I read something in the past year, perhaps it was in The Times, that the so-called “fight or flight” response needed to take that third alternative—freeze—into account as many of us do precisely that in the face of imminent danger. Sidewalks and bicycles are a bad combination, and Constance was fortunate indeed to have been able to walk away unscathed.
7
This is why we don’t like bicycle riders. I know several elderly ladies who have been knocked down and injured by bikes.
12
I wish the Trump supporters I know would appreciate your story. I know they won't.
5
there is a special,very very hot place in Hades
for these inconsiderate, insensitive, inane
bicycle riders who speed through red lights,
weave in and out of cars waiting at stop signs
(particularly egregious because you are not
expecting to be run over by these wanna be
speed racers) and don't even bother to apologize
for their nearly killing you.in my neighborhood,
they have become a worse danger than cars.
I am glad that you are all right.
16
one of my ideas,though not new,is that
all bicycles should have plates in the front
and back so they can be identified. if there were an accident caused by the
bikers fault,they could be identified and
hopefully prosecuted. and if the bicyclist
were sued in civil court,if only for a few
dollars a month,they would at least be
held accountable and help pay the bills
of their victim.
24
Not a bad idea Frank. When we were kids we all had small plates on our bikes that had our name on them---back then, we all had very common family names, and a store with 50 different boy and girl names covered almost everyone.
Would be easy to produce small plates, 4 or 5 digits.
An electronic alert should be activated immediately upon a sudden impact.
Woman with Eco Bags: 1
Man on Eco Vehicle: 0
Sidewalk: Passive Participant
5
glad you're well, constance. each time i witness another adult biker pedaling on a sidewalk, i'll think of you. not sure what the answer is regarding these miscreants' poor behavior. some of them sport helmets, or seem to be trying to avoid the wrong way traffic. whatever their reasoning, they are imperiling innocent pedestrians, as you so equivocally described.
16
Wow, you must have really been clipped to do a 180. Holy moly macaroni, what was that driver thinking? Glad that you have remained in one piece kiddo.
Conservation is always evolving. At one time we were all told of the benefits of changing from paper to plastic. "Save a tree" we were told. In fact you can still see that guidance at the end of many e-mail messages. Now, as many of us look to return to the bio degradable paper, we are instead told to use cloth totes. I wonder if in a decade we will be told how the totes are wasting recourses or damaging the environment? Time will tell.
7
You were fortunate Constance, though not quite as lucky as the Diary entry writer of several weeks back who, after she had stepped off the curb into the path of an onrushing bicycle, had an anonymous guardian angel pull her back to safety just in time to prevent a collision. You benefitted from the thing none of us can predict but all of us need—call it luck, fate, chance. I am glad your story ended happily and that you were able to walk away unharmed. Stay well.
22
I'd like to believe that the bicycle rider stopped to help you up, Constance. You were sly not to tell us. Keep us wondering!
I'm glad that you were not injured. The next time I see a plastic bag anywhere, perhaps caught in a tree branch after a wind storm, I'll think of you with your feet flying over your head, envisioning walkers and pain pills.
22