Today was really the day for traffic problems. All day I wondered if this was the time of month for a Full Moon, but it's not - well, not quite.
As I drove into Crystal Lake this morning, I met some high school boys (must have been members of a track team) running on Country Club Road. When I say "running on Country Club Road", I mean ON the road. They were running against traffic and in the traffic lane.
Because of oncoming traffic I couldn't move over, so I slowed and eventually had to stop to avoid hitting them. Two-three of them absolutely refused to leave the roadway and run on the shoulder. Beyond them other runners, boys and girls, were running in the roadway, some with traffic and some against traffic.
Last year and the year before, I called the athletic director and the principal of Priaire Ridge Central High School about his students who were running in the traffic lane on Walkup. This morning I wasn't sure which school the kids were from, so I called Crystal Lake South High School. I reached a very polite woman in the administration office who offered to record the information and get it to the right people; she thought the students might be from C.L. Central High School.
Although I left my name and number and requested a call back from the principal or athletic department, neither called. Nor did the Crystal Lake police officer, to whom the call would have been assigned.
The athletic director needs to be aware of the dangerous position in which his students place themselves. He certainly can't see it from the chair in his office, so he ought to get in his car and drive around to watch what is happening.
Maybe if the Crystal Lake PD wrote a dozen tickets one morning, then the word would get around campus. Do you think?
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11 comments:
Perhaps a smile and a wave of encouragement would go further than calling the police or the school.
Could be worse, they could have nothing else to do, and decide smoking a blunt and vandalizing property would be more fun.
Think about it.
Just hit 'em. That would teach them !
Yeah, sure. Hit a high school student running in the street? Obviously, you are joking. At least, I hope so.
The real problem is that they are placing themselves and drivers in harm's way. If they get hit they could be killed or injured badly for not using good judgment. If a motorist hits them when they the runners are in violation of the law guess who will get the law suit filed against them...the driver of the car. The school athletic dept. needs to handle this and promptly before law suits or deaths ensue.
Responses from two Crystal Lake High Schools were that they have guidelines in place, when runners head out onto the roads. They are to run single-file and on the shoulder of the roadway.
Well, now they know that that is not where the runners are.
Thanks to the CLHS staff that called me back!
Being a former police officer, you should know that cops can't write tickets for people running against traffic. They would only be breaking the law if they were running with traffic. All you do is try to provoke an upset within this site and the few readers that actually read this. Why don't you give a call to the police and confirm this and then shut up!
Police can, and should, cite runners in the roadway, blocking a traffic lane and forcing drivers to stop to avoid hitting them. In this case, there was no sidewalk, but they belonged on the shoulder of the roadway.
School policy is running single file and on the shoulder which, of course, is not "law" (until you are standing at attention in front of the coach, dean or principal).
Whatever the law is common sense would dictate that you should not run in the middle of a traffic lane either with or against traffic. Runners never win when they argue with 4,ooo lbs of steel going 30 or 40 mph. I can attest to that fact after over 30 years of taking care of mangled bodies...and those are the lucky ones.
Since you are always checking the rules of the road, re-read it and you will find out that it is in there. Or better yet, call the police station and find out about this. And no they can't write tickets. If you still can't find it maybe I'll go to the dmv and pick up a copy or just ask one of them in there.
There is no need to call the police about this one. Information is freely available right the online version of the Illinois Vehicle Code. Please read 625 ILCS 5/11‑1007. I think it's safe to assume that "running" would be considered the same as walking for the purpose of this statute.
(b) Where a sidewalk is not available, any pedestrian walking along and upon a highway shall walk only on a shoulder, as far as practicable from the edge of the roadway.
(d) Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, any pedestrian upon a roadway shall yield the right‑of‑way to all vehicles upon the roadway.
Right On Gus! This is a public safety issue not only for the runners but the vehicle drivers who have to avoid them and maybe wind up in a serious motor vehicle collision. Fun is great for kids but not when it involves public safelty to both themselves and others.
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