People Who Give Me Space--A Paragraph a Day

I've been running most of my life, and I can tell you that at times, it's rather dangerous.  Unfortunately, the danger isn't something that's inherent in the activity; rather, it's caused by drivers who choose not to give runners (and bikers, of course) enough space on the road.  I can be out on a country road with no other cars in sight anywhere, running on the road, and a car will pass me and give me absolutely no extra space at all.  This is dangerous because of things like the mirrors on cars that stick out farther than drivers realize, the small obstacles that we face like bad pavement and potholes, and the possibility of tripping or falling.  There are many, many drivers who are courteous and considerate, and they do all they can to give me as much space as possible.  They cross the double yellow line in order to make sure that they pass me safely.  On the other hand, there are many drivers who simply refuse to be as safe as possible, and they often pass within inches of me even when there's no oncoming traffic at all.  It frustrates me and sometimes scares me, but that's life, right?  I try to take the lesson from those who are considerate and do what they do in such a situation--always give as much space as possible and keep everyone as safe as possible.  The double yellow line is there for a reason, but when there's no oncoming traffic, the line means nothing at all, and many people understand that as a rule of life, it's much better safe than sorry.  And I very much appreciate them.