Some of them buzz us intentionally, obviously.

But something else came clear to me on my run yesterday. Since I was a pedestrian going against traffic, I could see the drivers' faces and their behavior quite clearly.

On this loop, I run less than a half-mile on a major US highway, with a bike/pedestrian lane (marked but not divided). In the space of that half-mile, three drivers swerved deeply into the MUL as soon as they saw me. Not trying to buzz me at all, there was plainly no intent behind it, just brainlessly staring at something they didn't expect to see (which honestly, runners aren't that uncommon in that lane), becoming target fixated and steering towards me.

No one got close enough to really scare me, but it sure was an eye-opener.