By Charissa Graves
From the Graves
It has been five months now since I was hit by a car.
I hesitate to comment further on the matter, because the well-meaning questions from readers have just begun tapering off. (I appreciate the concern, but I’d like to think I have other, more interesting, topics of conversation than one traumatic event.)
However, that event brought up some talking points that I think bear repeating.
Local pedestrian and bicyclist safety is still woefully lacking in Hutchinson. That, or Fourth Avenue is cursed (I’m not a particularly superstitious person, but I’m not closed-minded either). Frankly, I’m open to either possibility or a combination of both.
I can’t count how many times I’ve almost been hit again at that same intersection, or how many broken pedestrian signals I see as I’m driving through town. Even one of my coworkers said he was almost hit at that same crosswalk.
These are not isolated incidents, and they’re not all accidental either. I can vividly remember one of the first times it happened. I was just getting used to using that crosswalk again, and a man in a truck made eye contact with me, halfway through, and sped to turn in front of me. As far as exposure therapy sessions go, that was not one of the more helpful ones.
Now, I’m very fortunate. In a lot of ways, I got the best possible version of a worst-case scenario. However, every time I see the signal tell me that it’s safe to walk, I pause, and I don’t stop scanning my surroundings even when I make it to the next curb. Every time, I think about what could happen if I’m not as lucky next time.
I think about it every time I see another vehicle speed up when the light turns yellow, or turn when the soonest gap in traffic presents itself, or even run a red light entirely.
So, I ask other drivers to consider if the two minutes saved by making that decision is worth the potential damage, not only to the lives of others, but their own. Is your convenience worth another human being’s safety?
I don’t remember very much from the moment I was hit, but I do remember the driver that did it sobbing over me, and sometimes I wonder if she still thinks about it, because I know that I would if it had been me behind the wheel.
I would also ask city officials to revisit some of the ideas I presented in my column directly after the event. Stopping traffic from every direction for thirty seconds to allow people to cross would be a great kindness that should be relatively inexpensive.
Most of America is extremely car-dependent, which could be its own column, and one of the primary results of that dependency is a culture that treats driving as an expected chore, rather than the privilege and incredible responsibility that it is. It’s on all of us to remember that responsibility, and act accordingly.
Please, for your sake, mine, and everyone else’s, drive safe.
Charissa Graves is a reporter for The Hutchinson Tribune. She can be reached at: charissa@hutchtribune.com.