I am one of those annoying runners...

I am one of those annoying runners who actually prefers running

outdoors instead of indoors on a treadmill. I’m a transplant from

Seattle who loves living in Burbank. I enjoy the small-town feel, and

the sunshine has made a true convert of me. But I’m writing about

something that isn’t so great about Burbank: I’m sad to say that I

have noticed a definite growth in aggressive driving on our streets.

Recently, while I was running, I was nearly hit twice. Both times,

I had already stepped into the intersection, but my decision to take

my pedestrian right-of-way angered drivers on two occasions. Their

angry responses, both times, was to stomp on the gas pedal, gunning

their engines and rushing toward me behind the wheels of their lethal

weapons.

I had the right of way, as all pedestrians in intersections do.

Yes, I could have yielded it, but chose not to because I was running

and didn’t want to lose my momentum. I understand how these drivers

were irritated with my decision, but I have to ask, do they realize

they were threatening me with my life?

It’s a really stupid game if you think about it. If you win, I’m

dead. All I had to do was accidentally trip and fall, and you

wouldn’t have been able to contain your forward momentum. Will you

like living with the thought that you won the game even though you

murdered someone? First, you’ll go to prison. And, if you believe in

heaven, there’ll be no such reward for you if you kill someone.

I’m writing to ask my fellow citizens to please drive with a

conscience. We mustn’t allow the anonymous quality of being inside

several tons of metal to remove our sense of humanity. A little

patience isn’t so difficult to muster. Just imagine some other driver

getting irritated with your husband, wife or child and running them

over in an intersection. People, we are human beings in cars, not

machines.

MARGARET DOLL

Burbank