To all drivers who stop for joggers on a busy three-lane, one-way street: if I gesture for you to go on, it is not because I wish to engage you in a battle of wills. It is because I do not want to be hit by the cars whizzing by in the two lanes on the other side of you.

Two of you deserve special recognition. One of you stopped in the lane nearest to me at 10th at Margaret and shook your head when I motioned for you to move on. The second then stopped in the middle lane, probably not wanting to be outdone in magnanimity toward pedestrians. As cars stacked up, I could no longer even see who was approaching in the far lane. Finally, when the honking started, middle lane rolled down his window, and I was able to point out the problem posed by that third lane.

If I haven't started to cross the street within a few seconds after you stop, I'm probably not going to. I can only conclude that you view my refusal as some bizarre sort of challenge. I just want to make it home without being hit by a car!

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