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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums61 year old man walks 35 miles one way to work as janitor to support sick wife. $9.07/hr
DAVIS CITY, Ia. Steve Simoff's daily commute to and from work can be more than a full-time job.
His route stretches 35 miles from this "deader-than-a-doornail" small town near the Missouri border all the way north to Lakeside Casino in Osceola.
And Simoff, 61, often hoofs it to work. That's right, he walks along Interstate Highway 35, the lone figure striding along the shoulder of the road, dwarfed by semitrailer trucks that whoosh by at 70 miles per hour.
He doesn't clock in until 11 p.m. for his overnight shift as a janitor. But to give himself time to get there on foot, he bounds out of the front door of his basement apartment at 3:30 p.m.
On those days, his 2002 Ford Windstar minivan with 105,000 miles on its odometer stays parked in the driveway. The Simoffs haven't always had a car. But even now that they do, gas money is tight
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/local/kyle-munson/2015/02/28/walking-commuter-steve-simoff-davis-city-osceola-casino/24198793/___
Her disability Renee's Supplemental Security Income checks add a little cushion to Simoff's $9.07-per-hour job prodded Simoff to walk to work on a more regular basis.
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Lately, Simoff has been hitching a ride most of the way home with a co-worker who lives in Leon, leaving him a morning jaunt of barely more than eight miles.
RandySF
(58,447 posts)7wo7rees
(5,128 posts)Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)peacebird
(14,195 posts)Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)Triple the speed with the same effort.
happyslug
(14,779 posts)Sorry he is relying on being picked up as a hitch hiker. A bike is something you can throw in someone's back seat. Sorry while hitch hiking is illegal it is one way for people to get around.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)It was obvious from him walking facing away from traffic, that's not the safe option, it's the get picked up option, in a lot of states pedestrians aren't supposed to be on the Interstate in the first place and bikes too for that matter.
On the other hand if you can't depend on being picked up and you're walking miles rather than riding a bike then you should get the bike, it will save a lot of time and energy and you can carry stuff as well.
happyslug
(14,779 posts)Thus there should be NO STATES that permit bikes or pedestrians on interstates.
On the other hand I do know of exceptions to that rule. Bicycles are permitted on interstate 79 around Neville Island and the Ohio River between Exits 18 and 19.
http://pghbridges.com/ambridge/0573-4485/i79nevillemnch.htm
ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/bikes/state_mapA.pdf
It is the only spot in Pennsylvania that permits bicycles on an Interstate that I know of. California appears to be more open to bikes on freeways, but only in rural areas of the state:
http://www.bikeforums.net/touring/123478-how-find-out-state-interstate-highways-freeways-you-can-bicycle.html
marym625
(17,997 posts)Damn! I know that the cost is probably prohibitive, but can't he move? Or better yet, get a raise to match the cost of living?
Can we write to his employer? Or would they fire him for the bad publicity?
Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)marym625
(17,997 posts)Bookmarked. Actually watching Dear America, Letters Home from Vietnam. I usually read the articles. Should have before I asked
XemaSab
(60,212 posts)He'd have to be walking for 15 hours a day at 4.6 miles an hour.
If his work shift is 5 hours, that's 4 hours for sleeping.
Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)Even on the Interstate he should face the traffic if he's walking, cars swerve off all the time.
Wiki says the actual average walking speed is 3.1 miles per hour so 7.5 hours x 3.1 mph = less than 24 miles...leaving him 11 miles from work at 11:00 pm.
You can tell me he COMMUTES 35 miles each way but don't tell me he WALKS 35 miles each way because 70 miles divided by 3.1 miles per hour would leave him less than an hour a day to work...
flvegan
(64,404 posts)I'd find a way to leverage that determination and drive and pay him for it.
Just saying.
postulater
(5,075 posts)LiberalElite
(14,691 posts)bullwinkle428
(20,628 posts)provide gas & expense money to help him out, I would happily contribute.
AngryDem001
(684 posts)Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)johnnyreb
(915 posts)(warning: 25 second audio of gee dubya)
President George B*sh to a divorced mother of three. Omaha, Nebraska Feb. 4th 2005.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIjo-dWE1Jg