Blind Spot

This morning I almost hit a man. Hit. A. Man.

Not hit on a man. Not hit on by a man. I almost hit a man.

I've tried to understand how it happened. I've attempted to walk back through the steps that happened leading up to. I can't really understand it and I'm not going to try to rationalize my behavior or steer fault elsewhere. I almost hit a man and I believe that I would have been at fault, obviously. And, the scary thought, had I hit the man, I still would have no recollection of exactly what had happened.

Here's what I think happened:

My driveway has a slight hill. So slight that in the winter, I often struggle getting up the driveway successfully. I have a narrow driveway. This isn't the first time I've blogged about issues with my driveway, anyway. I back out of my driveway, only because I've mastered backing out of it (at least I thought I had) rather than backing up it and into my garage. By doing that, I would likely hit my house, the neighbors house and my garage! So instead, I guess I've chosen to put others at risk by backing out of my driveway and almost hitting them!

I was backing out this morning (actually leaving the house EARLY) and when I approached the peak of the hill I looked to the left and saw nothing, backed up more beyond my front porch and looked right and then backed down the driveway. Even if I wanted to stop in the middle of the hill, I wouldn't be able to - the hill takes control. The next thing I hear, a whack, a light thump on my door. Even at that point, I hadn't seen him.

He ran past on the sidewalk with his dog. From the point of the sidewalk to the street, he was already three houses up the street. He had hit my car with his leash and shook his head in disgust and disapproval at me as he ran by. I had no idea how I missed him.

Was he in my blind spot? Did I not look? At the pace that he was running, he could have easily distanced over five houses in the time I drove from the crest of the hill down my driveway. Five houses, if not more.

Granted, with the snow banks, it's also more difficult to see people on the sidewalk. I make no excuses that I didn't see him. I didn't. Did he see me? At what point did he see me?

I'm more than thankful that he did see me and that he stopped and I didn't hit him. Was he trying to make a point that I should pay more attention? I wasn't distracted with the radio, makeup, cell phone and I wasn't late. I could have hit a man.

When I was training for the 3-day walk and walking on sidewalks, I was constantly aware of every driveway and every possible car. When I ride my bike on the sidewalk with my son, the same thing. Who is responsible for ones safety when crossing a sidewalk on someone's driveway? Is it you, them or both?

Ultimately, you should be aware of your surroundings and your own safety. Whether you call it offensive or defensive, in every situation - a car, a bike, walking, running, skiing - in life, you should be aware of yourself and others. While we can't always prepare ourselves for the unknown, knowing as much as we can will help us to be acknowledge the blind spot and hopefully not be blindsided.

And to the man I almost hit...I'm sorry. I promise to pay more attention. Thank you for paying enough attention for the both of us.