Militant runners on country lanes
Discussion
MrTrilby said:
QuickQuack said:
Did you even read the bit you quoted? The bit I bolded for you? I DID stop! What else was I supposed to do, run him over or crash head on into the oncoming traffic?
Perhaps a reason why people are suggesting you are in the wrong is because you described your options as “swerving into the other lane” or stopping. That makes it sound like you were not being very observant, or you were assuming the runner would move out of your way, and so at last minute you were left with the option of swerving or braking hard and stopping just in front of them. It would be quite understandable why anyone - runner or walker - would be quite upset to have a car drive at them at speed and then brake hard at last minute. Maybe what you meant was that you saw the runner well in advance and couldn’t move over to the other lane in good time because of oncoming traffic, so instead you gently came to a stop well before the runner to give them space to feel safe and to continue running towards you whilst you waited for the oncoming traffic to clear. That would make the runner seem unreasonable if you ended up waiting for a while before it was safe to pass them and they were also then forced to stop.
Honestly, what on earth is everyone on this thread expecting me to do? f
king levitate? sunnyb13 said:
Slow down a little.
How much slower than 0 mph do you expect me to go? I didn't have to slam the anchors on, as MrTrilby correctly understood, I saw the situation developing, slowed down gradually, came to a stop and waited in a not-that-narrow, NSL single carriageway. He decided of his accord to carry on running into a steel wall, then punch it. It wouldn't have taken that much thought to go around it as there was plenty of space and a grass verge he could've run on for a few seconds while the traffic went past. Given that 99+% of drivers I see give cyclists and runners a wide berth, it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect a little bit of courtesy in return. He was the one going specifically against the HWC guidance about staying on the EDGE of the road, shouting, swearing, hitting my car, generally being obnoxious when I had done everything within reason to avoid a conflict, yet some are still assuming it wase or my speed that was the problem. FFS.
QuickQuack said:
Has anyone else been noticing a trend for people to be running on country lanes recently or is this something more confined to my locality in Northamptonshire? The ones around here are quite aggressive in their use of the road and can be quite disruptive and dangerous, both for themselves and other road road users, as well as occasionally being very aggressive to people. I'm fully aware of the Highway Code recommendations including walking in the direction facing the traffic; however, these runners don't take note of anything else. HWC also recommends crossing to the other side on blind corners to increase visibility, but none of them do. Even a slow bicycle is still travelling away from you or a stationary object isn't moving. These maniacs are running AT you on your side of the road on blind bends, and some of them run practically in the middle of your lane rather than the edge of the road, sometimes run 2 abreast, and don't use or get on the grass verge at all even when cars are approaching, which is absolutely bonkers. I can understand that if there are no cars coming in the other direction, but that's not always the case. I see plenty running with headphones on, few have any reflective strips or clothing, and none have any kind of light or torch when it's getting dark or difficult to see.
I've recently had one incident where there was a runner coming towards me on my side of the road, near the middle of my lane, and a cyclist catching up with him on the other side with a line of cars behind the cyclist who had been unable to overtake him. There was no space for me to swerve into the opposite side of the road due to the cyclist and the cars behind him, me going on the verge wouldn't really have helped, and it would've been an absolutely mad thing to do. With the runner still coming towards me, the only thing I could do was to physically stop, which I did, since there literally was nowhere I could go. The runner first stopped in front of my car, then started shouting at me, then slammed my bonnet with his fist and hit the windows as he went past, still screaming and shouting. As I had 2 kids in the car, my 12 year old daughter and her friend, and I'm not a lunatic myself, getting out of the car and remonstrating with the madman was never an option. Luckily, the trusty L322 is solidly built and I hope he hurt himself more than he hurt the car, though he certainly scared the girls.
That was a few weeks ago, and since then, I've noticed this very inflexible and aggressive attitude in runners more and more frequently. The roads they're running on really aren't suitable for running on either; we're talking about narrow country lanes here, mostly NSL, occasionally 40/50mph, narrow, bendy, twisty roads with blind corners, no footpaths, no pavements, frequently double or single solid lines preventing crossing the centre line by the traffic (or making it dangerous even if it is allowed since they're going below 12 mph), sometimes with a grass verge, sometimes not. They're reducing the roads to Victorian times when a man with a red flag was walking in front of a car. WTF is going on? Is it me out of touch with the modern world or am I justified in thinking that this behaviour is unacceptable and this new breed of runners are a bunch of bell ends?
It’s reasons like this I have a dash cam. I’m not the sort of person to upload it but sometimes these people need to see what bellends they areI've recently had one incident where there was a runner coming towards me on my side of the road, near the middle of my lane, and a cyclist catching up with him on the other side with a line of cars behind the cyclist who had been unable to overtake him. There was no space for me to swerve into the opposite side of the road due to the cyclist and the cars behind him, me going on the verge wouldn't really have helped, and it would've been an absolutely mad thing to do. With the runner still coming towards me, the only thing I could do was to physically stop, which I did, since there literally was nowhere I could go. The runner first stopped in front of my car, then started shouting at me, then slammed my bonnet with his fist and hit the windows as he went past, still screaming and shouting. As I had 2 kids in the car, my 12 year old daughter and her friend, and I'm not a lunatic myself, getting out of the car and remonstrating with the madman was never an option. Luckily, the trusty L322 is solidly built and I hope he hurt himself more than he hurt the car, though he certainly scared the girls.
That was a few weeks ago, and since then, I've noticed this very inflexible and aggressive attitude in runners more and more frequently. The roads they're running on really aren't suitable for running on either; we're talking about narrow country lanes here, mostly NSL, occasionally 40/50mph, narrow, bendy, twisty roads with blind corners, no footpaths, no pavements, frequently double or single solid lines preventing crossing the centre line by the traffic (or making it dangerous even if it is allowed since they're going below 12 mph), sometimes with a grass verge, sometimes not. They're reducing the roads to Victorian times when a man with a red flag was walking in front of a car. WTF is going on? Is it me out of touch with the modern world or am I justified in thinking that this behaviour is unacceptable and this new breed of runners are a bunch of bell ends?
QuickQuack said:
I saw the situation developing, slowed down gradually, came to a stop and waited in a not-that-narrow, NSL single carriageway..
If it was not that narrow then as other posters have suggested, you would have had room for the runner to pass on your near side. You make it sound like you were trying to be awkward to the runner and deliberately obstruct them. You’re not helping yourself by complaining about them “running down the middle of your lane at you”. That’s what they should do. From experience I’ve found that if you try and hug the edge of the road then two things happen - a lot of traffic simply won’t even see you because they look directly in front, not at the side of the lane and you don’t stand out from the hedge; and a lot of traffic will assume they can squeeze past you at full speed, which at 60mph on an NSL is frankly terrifying - you’re gambling that the vehicle has (a) seen you and (b) correctly judged that they’re not going to hit you. Because at 60 mph there’s zero room for error.
Much better to run or walk a bit out in the lane where drivers can see you more easily and they are forced to have to drive around you, because then it makes them think about giving you space, and it give you room to dodge towards the verge if you judge the motorist hasn’t given you enough space.
Plenty of drivers don’t seem to understand lanes and assume the verge is fine to walk or drive on. And it rarely is - the grass at this time of year is starting to get long, and hides a multitude of ankle or axle breaking drainage ditches, cuts and holes.
I've been forced into this situation because it would seem that having one horn on my van isn't loud enough for these types of people to hear, I give a gentle "toot" to let them know I'am approaching I do this out of courtesy in case one of them gets a fright and manages to get themselves run over...after all the road is a dangerous place.
The one horn must be near silent as it seems to have no effect on these people as they just continue on doing what they like with little regard to their own safety.
My solution to help prevent them from dying is to fit four Fiamm AM80S horns to my van and hopefully the full 220db "toot" penetrates their thick skulls to realise someone is approaching and it might be best to get the fk off the road.
The one horn must be near silent as it seems to have no effect on these people as they just continue on doing what they like with little regard to their own safety.
My solution to help prevent them from dying is to fit four Fiamm AM80S horns to my van and hopefully the full 220db "toot" penetrates their thick skulls to realise someone is approaching and it might be best to get the f
k off the road.Unless it's dark run on the 140,000 miles of public footpaths that are in the UK.
If there's no pavement then it makes sense, no traffic no pushchairs or electric scooters.
All the runners I've run with love being off road we do have a moan about the stinging nettles in the summer ,but love the mud .in winter.
If there's no pavement then it makes sense, no traffic no pushchairs or electric scooters.
All the runners I've run with love being off road we do have a moan about the stinging nettles in the summer ,but love the mud .in winter.
Klippie said:
I've been forced into this situation because it would seem that having one horn on my van isn't loud enough for these types of people to hear, I give a gentle "toot" to let them know I'am approaching I do this out of courtesy in case one of them gets a fright and manages to get themselves run over...after all the road is a dangerous place.
The one horn must be near silent as it seems to have no effect on these people as they just continue on doing what they like with little regard to their own safety.
My solution to help prevent them from dying is to fit four Fiamm AM80S horns to my van and hopefully the full 220db "toot" penetrates their thick skulls to realise someone is approaching and it might be best to get the fk off the road.
Do you get aroused when you use the four Fiamm AM80S horns? Or just give yourself the finger-gun salute in the mirror when you get home to 'apartment' in your mum's basement? The one horn must be near silent as it seems to have no effect on these people as they just continue on doing what they like with little regard to their own safety.
My solution to help prevent them from dying is to fit four Fiamm AM80S horns to my van and hopefully the full 220db "toot" penetrates their thick skulls to realise someone is approaching and it might be best to get the f
k off the road.Klippie said:
My solution to help prevent them from dying is to fit four Fiamm AM80S horns to my van and hopefully the full 220db "toot" penetrates their thick skulls to realise someone is approaching and it might be best to get the fk off the road.
I’m surprised you can hear them over the knicker elastic of the local ladies snapping. k off the road.alfa phil said:
Unless it's dark run on the 140,000 miles of public footpaths that are in the UK.
If there's no pavement then it makes sense, no traffic no pushchairs or electric scooters.
All the runners I've run with love being off road we do have a moan about the stinging nettles in the summer ,but love the mud .in winter.
No Phil we dont run on the pavements due to the uneven cambers/constantly changing surface levels If there's no pavement then it makes sense, no traffic no pushchairs or electric scooters.
All the runners I've run with love being off road we do have a moan about the stinging nettles in the summer ,but love the mud .in winter.
QuickQuack said:
Has anyone else been noticing a trend for people to be running on country lanes recently or is this something more confined to my locality in Northamptonshire? The ones around here are quite aggressive in their use of the road and can be quite disruptive and dangerous, both for themselves and other road road users, as well as occasionally being very aggressive to people. I'm fully aware of the Highway Code recommendations including walking in the direction facing the traffic; however, these runners don't take note of anything else. HWC also recommends crossing to the other side on blind corners to increase visibility, but none of them do. Even a slow bicycle is still travelling away from you or a stationary object isn't moving. These maniacs are running AT you on your side of the road on blind bends, and some of them run practically in the middle of your lane rather than the edge of the road, sometimes run 2 abreast, and don't use or get on the grass verge at all even when cars are approaching, which is absolutely bonkers. I can understand that if there are no cars coming in the other direction, but that's not always the case. I see plenty running with headphones on, few have any reflective strips or clothing, and none have any kind of light or torch when it's getting dark or difficult to see.
I've recently had one incident where there was a runner coming towards me on my side of the road, near the middle of my lane, and a cyclist catching up with him on the other side with a line of cars behind the cyclist who had been unable to overtake him. There was no space for me to swerve into the opposite side of the road due to the cyclist and the cars behind him, me going on the verge wouldn't really have helped, and it would've been an absolutely mad thing to do. With the runner still coming towards me, the only thing I could do was to physically stop, which I did, since there literally was nowhere I could go. The runner first stopped in front of my car, then started shouting at me, then slammed my bonnet with his fist and hit the windows as he went past, still screaming and shouting. As I had 2 kids in the car, my 12 year old daughter and her friend, and I'm not a lunatic myself, getting out of the car and remonstrating with the madman was never an option. Luckily, the trusty L322 is solidly built and I hope he hurt himself more than he hurt the car, though he certainly scared the girls.
That was a few weeks ago, and since then, I've noticed this very inflexible and aggressive attitude in runners more and more frequently. The roads they're running on really aren't suitable for running on either; we're talking about narrow country lanes here, mostly NSL, occasionally 40/50mph, narrow, bendy, twisty roads with blind corners, no footpaths, no pavements, frequently double or single solid lines preventing crossing the centre line by the traffic (or making it dangerous even if it is allowed since they're going below 12 mph), sometimes with a grass verge, sometimes not. They're reducing the roads to Victorian times when a man with a red flag was walking in front of a car. WTF is going on? Is it me out of touch with the modern world or am I justified in thinking that this behaviour is unacceptable and this new breed of runners are a bunch of bell ends?
You're quite right of course. These selfish road users should be forced to pay for insurance, and vehicle tax should be levied on their trainers should they wish to use the road and not pavements. Dashcam footage should be used by honest drivers and these vest-clad lunatics reported to the police if they stray too far from the verges. They should be made to display their certificates of insurance on their running top and some sort of registration number so they can be given points and running bans if they get to 12 points.I've recently had one incident where there was a runner coming towards me on my side of the road, near the middle of my lane, and a cyclist catching up with him on the other side with a line of cars behind the cyclist who had been unable to overtake him. There was no space for me to swerve into the opposite side of the road due to the cyclist and the cars behind him, me going on the verge wouldn't really have helped, and it would've been an absolutely mad thing to do. With the runner still coming towards me, the only thing I could do was to physically stop, which I did, since there literally was nowhere I could go. The runner first stopped in front of my car, then started shouting at me, then slammed my bonnet with his fist and hit the windows as he went past, still screaming and shouting. As I had 2 kids in the car, my 12 year old daughter and her friend, and I'm not a lunatic myself, getting out of the car and remonstrating with the madman was never an option. Luckily, the trusty L322 is solidly built and I hope he hurt himself more than he hurt the car, though he certainly scared the girls.
That was a few weeks ago, and since then, I've noticed this very inflexible and aggressive attitude in runners more and more frequently. The roads they're running on really aren't suitable for running on either; we're talking about narrow country lanes here, mostly NSL, occasionally 40/50mph, narrow, bendy, twisty roads with blind corners, no footpaths, no pavements, frequently double or single solid lines preventing crossing the centre line by the traffic (or making it dangerous even if it is allowed since they're going below 12 mph), sometimes with a grass verge, sometimes not. They're reducing the roads to Victorian times when a man with a red flag was walking in front of a car. WTF is going on? Is it me out of touch with the modern world or am I justified in thinking that this behaviour is unacceptable and this new breed of runners are a bunch of bell ends?
Klippie said:
I've been forced into this situation because it would seem that having one horn on my van isn't loud enough for these types of people to hear, I give a gentle "toot" to let them know I'am approaching I do this out of courtesy in case one of them gets a fright and manages to get themselves run over...after all the road is a dangerous place.
The one horn must be near silent as it seems to have no effect on these people as they just continue on doing what they like with little regard to their own safety.
My solution to help prevent them from dying is to fit four Fiamm AM80S horns to my van and hopefully the full 220db "toot" penetrates their thick skulls to realise someone is approaching and it might be best to get the fk off the road.
I have 6 AMS 81's fitted to my Nissan Note, that play a selection of Prussian marching songs and the theme tune to the Flumps. The one horn must be near silent as it seems to have no effect on these people as they just continue on doing what they like with little regard to their own safety.
My solution to help prevent them from dying is to fit four Fiamm AM80S horns to my van and hopefully the full 220db "toot" penetrates their thick skulls to realise someone is approaching and it might be best to get the f
k off the road.MrTrilby said:
If it was not that narrow then as other posters have suggested, you would have had room for the runner to pass on your near side. You make it sound like you were trying to be awkward to the runner and deliberately obstruct them.
You’re not helping yourself by complaining about them “running down the middle of your lane at you”. That’s what they should do. From experience I’ve found that if you try and hug the edge of the road then two things happen - a lot of traffic simply won’t even see you because they look directly in front, not at the side of the lane and you don’t stand out from the hedge; and a lot of traffic will assume they can squeeze past you at full speed, which at 60mph on an NSL is frankly terrifying - you’re gambling that the vehicle has (a) seen you and (b) correctly judged that they’re not going to hit you. Because at 60 mph there’s zero room for error.
Much better to run or walk a bit out in the lane where drivers can see you more easily and they are forced to have to drive around you, because then it makes them think about giving you space, and it give you room to dodge towards the verge if you judge the motorist hasn’t given you enough space.
Plenty of drivers don’t seem to understand lanes and assume the verge is fine to walk or drive on. And it rarely is - the grass at this time of year is starting to get long, and hides a multitude of ankle or axle breaking drainage ditches, cuts and holes.
There's a cyclist and a load of cars going in the other direction on the other side of the road. I cannot move any further offside without having a head on crash. Yes, there's loads of room nearside for the runner but he won't move to run there. Please tell me how I'm supposed to position my car other than how I did (slowed down and stopped without crashing and with plenty of space nearside) so that I'm not being seen to be deliberately obstructing the runner. Please explain to me, how this entire situation was the runner not deliberately obstructing me? You’re not helping yourself by complaining about them “running down the middle of your lane at you”. That’s what they should do. From experience I’ve found that if you try and hug the edge of the road then two things happen - a lot of traffic simply won’t even see you because they look directly in front, not at the side of the lane and you don’t stand out from the hedge; and a lot of traffic will assume they can squeeze past you at full speed, which at 60mph on an NSL is frankly terrifying - you’re gambling that the vehicle has (a) seen you and (b) correctly judged that they’re not going to hit you. Because at 60 mph there’s zero room for error.
Much better to run or walk a bit out in the lane where drivers can see you more easily and they are forced to have to drive around you, because then it makes them think about giving you space, and it give you room to dodge towards the verge if you judge the motorist hasn’t given you enough space.
Plenty of drivers don’t seem to understand lanes and assume the verge is fine to walk or drive on. And it rarely is - the grass at this time of year is starting to get long, and hides a multitude of ankle or axle breaking drainage ditches, cuts and holes.
nickfrog said:
aeropilot said:
They are bell-ends, just as many of the lycra-cycle lot are now the law has been stupidly changed to make them higher priority than cars.......they think they can do what they like, as the car driver will now always be in the wrong.
Exactly. They don't even pay road tax, nor insurance, no registration either. Cyclists are barely human. The bds.
To be honest OP, I was thinking there must have been more than this story for someone to start hitting you car. Natural for people to question the events, I guess.
With your confirmation that you came to a gradual stop, you seem to have just been unlucky encountering an absolute nut job. I've never seen a runner or cyclist do anything like that. You are referring to all runners, but from what you describe this guy must be a one off, surely?
With your confirmation that you came to a gradual stop, you seem to have just been unlucky encountering an absolute nut job. I've never seen a runner or cyclist do anything like that. You are referring to all runners, but from what you describe this guy must be a one off, surely?
I sometimes run on lanes but I chose them very carefully as it can be dangerous and running on them is a bad idea. If I am at my parents and I want to run, I drive to a different village and go from there as I don't feel its sensible.
A lot of people deem they can legally do it therefore they should do it.
Most of my running is off the road. It's better to go on a softer surface and why do I want to get in the way or breathe in fumes etc. Runners, cyclists, motorists and swimmers etc can all be a pain in the ass!!! Humans eh...
A lot of people deem they can legally do it therefore they should do it.
Most of my running is off the road. It's better to go on a softer surface and why do I want to get in the way or breathe in fumes etc. Runners, cyclists, motorists and swimmers etc can all be a pain in the ass!!! Humans eh...
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