Last week our neighborhood association held a street safety workshop at the community center off Oak Street. It was prompted by a series of traffic incidents, one of them fatal, and the stated goal was to empower residents with knowledge and awareness. I attended in good faith. I left in a state of informed paralysis.

Before the workshop, I walked to the grocery store without thinking about it. I crossed the street. I looked both ways, or at least one way. I went about my business. This is what people have done in neighborhoods since the invention of neighborhoods.

The workshop changed everything. We were shown diagrams of sightline obstructions. We learned about “conflict zones,” which turns out to be a term for every intersection within a half mile of my house. A woman from the city planning office used the phrase “vulnerable road user” eleven times. I counted. I am now a vulnerable road user. I was previously just a person walking to get milk.

My neighbor Hal attended the same workshop and has since installed a reflective vest hook by his front door. He wears it to check the mail. His mailbox is fourteen feet from his front porch. When I asked if he thought the vest was necessary for that distance, he said, “You heard the statistics, Lorraine.”

I did hear the statistics. That is the problem. The statistics have made it impossible to leave the house without conducting a risk assessment. My morning walk now involves scanning for blind driveways, distracted drivers, and what the workshop called “unpredictable turning behavior,” which as far as I can tell describes every driver in Bozeman.

The next workshop is on bicycle safety. I will not be attending. I’ve reached my capacity for awareness. There is a point at which education becomes a kind of captivity, and I have crossed it — carefully, wearing a reflective vest, after checking both directions twice.

Lorraine Hubcap is a longtime Bozeman resident and pickle enthusiast. She serves on no boards and holds no titles, which she believes qualifies her to speak freely on matters of public concern.