Drive and Exercise Safely

In April, my wife’s Tutu turned 90 years old. She is still very active in spite of her age, swimming and going on long walks every day. We have pleaded with her to stop walking along the side of the highway but she insists, agreeing only to wear a reflective vest on her early morning walks.

Last week she had a big wake-up call and our family had a big scare. As she was walking along the highway, on her return trip from town, an early morning motorist reversed out of their road to turn onto the highway and backed over her. She is lucky to be alive and to have no broken bones, though she looks like she just lost an MMA fight.

The driver never saw her and continued on with their journey after knocking her over and running over her, completely unaware. Our family is grateful to the compassionate people at Molokai General Hospital for taking care of her. She is resting at home and will amazingly and thankfully be okay.

I’m writing this as a reminder to all walkers, joggers, and bikers of any age to be extremely careful while exercising along the highway or any road. Also, as drivers, we need to remain mindful of our surroundings at all times, especially when backing out of a road or driveway. We should always assume someone is there and look two or three times if we have to, to make sure there isn’t. It could literally save a life, whether it’s a pedestrian, a cyclist, or even someone on an adult tricycle.

No matter how loud our vehicles are, for hearing impaired kupuna, they are not loud enough. Just like they need to be careful not to get hit, as drivers we need to be careful not to hit them. It is inspiring to see so many people both old and young out exercising, let’s do our best to keep them safe.

Jayson Mizula