When walking on the sidewalk....

I walk on the side of the sidewalk that I drive. So that is the right side in the US and mainland Europe and the left side in the UK and Japan.

 

You're actually supposed to walk towards oncoming traffic, so in the U.S. the left is the right side.

But no one does. It's like wearing white shoes after Easter or using commas.

 

He's talking about when you're on a sidewalk itself, regardless where the street is. On a sidewalk with an oncoming pedestrian, do you veer to the right or the left to avoid walking into the other person?

 

I didn't see that any where in the question.

Nor did I see "middle" listed.

I walk in the middle.

When someone is coming toward me, I veer to whatever side they're not on.

But according to your criteria, I suspect most people walk as they drive. So for the U.S. the right side, for the U.K. the left.

 

When walking where they have sidewalks I walk on whichever side is more convenient, if I want to look in shops I walk on the side nearest the shops.

However, in my experience when walking in America it's generally a matter of a small expedition, some Sherpas to help and a bit of climbing gear doesn't go amiss, your sidewalks suck if you can even find them. It is without exception, the worst country in the Western world for giving pedestrians somewhere to stay alive.

Maybe Greece is more work but not because they don't have them it is just because motorists don't see a difference between the pavement and the road.

 

Sidewalks are a free for all. The rules established for cars do not apply to sidewalks. Groups dominate their space, and sometimes all you can do is stop and let the group figure out how to get by you. You go where you can get through, and if that means weaving around parking meters, so be it. Window shopping is done next to the windows, and flows both directions. Even worse are aisles in stores.

 

I think that the rule or etiquette is that the rule of the road applies to the sidewalk and other off-road situations.

So in the US for example, you should generally walk on the right, and when two people are walking towards each other, each is supposed to move right.

But a lot of people either don't know, don't observe or have a hard time observing the rule of the road in off-road situations (on crowded sidewalks, it's definitely a free-for-all, mostly due to necessity).

 

I guess it really doesn't matter to me....I naturally veer to the right because I am right-handed but I will take the path of least resistance when approaching oncoming pedestrians, especially if they seem pre-occupied and don't notice I am taking up space on the sidewalk.....

 

I vary the side by country. The left or right issue of roads pervades all aspects of transportation. Look at doors and escalators: in the U.S. we normally go through the right door and take the right escalator. In the U.K. it's just the opposite. Likewise with traffic on the sidewalk.

Unfortunately, many people are as clueless about walking as they are about driving, so sidewalks become more of a free-for-all. The same thing happens in parking lots. People are basically self-centered idiots.

So for my answer I said right, since I live in the U.S. When I encounter someone walking at me down their left side I often say "Oh, you mush be British?"

You have hit on one of my many hot buttons. Most of my hot buttons revolve around people being detached from the present and indifferent to their surroundings. Cell phones only make it worse. A classic example is a cell-phone-talking driver aimlessly and obliviously cruising through a large parking lot, ignoring lines, traffic laws, and common courtesy, completely unaware of their surroundings. People with shopping carts are notorious offenders too.

Pilots, sailors, climbers, and people like that refer to situational awareness, which is nothing more than paying attention and giving some thought to what might happen next. It works in real life too. So you see a long line of shoppers pushing carts from the other end of the aisle; do you think maybe you might want to part your cart off to the side so they can get through? It's not a hard concept.

Tom

 

Yep. And there are exceptions that prove the rule. E.g., in restaurants, because most people are right-handed, all of the waiting staff typically balance large trays on their left hand and shoulder (even if they're left-handed), and the rule for waiters and restaurant personnel is to walk and veer left.

 

Since my dog walks on my left side, I try to stay left so I'm between her and the oncoming person, especially if there's a grabby kid in a stroller. I'll go right when people don't give way though.

 

Being in the U.S., I'm a right-side walker. Just a few minutes ago, I was walking down the sidewalk when an idiot decided to walk on her left, so I had to quickly step to the right to avoid plowing down said idiot. When veering, I didn't notice the sidewalk had a slight rise, and I took a really good tumble. Meanwhile, idiot decided that was a fine place to cross the street, her jaywalking forcing an oncoming car to slam on his breaks, who narrowly missed being rear-ended because of that.

Some people make me think there should be a license to walk.

 

I walk wherever there seems to be empty space. Couples always walk side-by-side, and if the sidewalk is wide, they walk as far apart as they can without leaving enough room for someone to pass between, holding hands if necessary to accomplish this. Groups work together to make sure that nobody can pass without stepping into the street. I just do my best to survive. Actually, most people will let you by if you come at them head on, but I walk faster than most, and when you come up behind people they are oblivious. They seem to adhere to the creedo which states that there is no behind, there is only in front.

 

Sometimes I get sidewalk rage at wrong side walkers, and retaliate.

There I am responsibly walking on the right side, and then some oblivious person appears and is coming straight at me. First I quickly assess whether the offender could kill me. And if I think s/he cannot, I run 'em over (with varying degrees of force, depending on my assessment and mood).

I do a similar thing with people walking on a crowded sidewalk carrying giant golfing umbrellas. They're space hogs.

 

I generally walk on the right. In Japan and Oz I usually walked on the left although there were plenty of people that walked on the right or wherever there was any free space. A few walking trails/paths I went on in Oz had explicit instructions to "keep to the left" and a couple of the paved paths even had direction arrows painted every few hundred metres or so.

 

I live in a tourist town. Tourists are even more oblivious than your normal self absorbed cell phone talking type. In the summer, tourists form little knots of people on the sidewalks and streets. They don't see anyone else, and they don't move out of the way.

I would complain bitterly, but we need their money for our local economy. Still, if it's tourist season, why can't we shoot them?

Tom

 

Not only are tourists frequently oblivious, but they're usually stopped in their tracks or very slow moving.

In fast paced New York City where the natives and commuters walk fast (if they can), tourists are always slowing me down.

But I cut them a lot of slack. I know they're acting in good faith. So I never intentionally bump them or run them over.

 

I walk along as far away from the street as I possibly can. The drivers are maniacs!! They need all the room available, and yes, I've seen them come up on the sidewalk to pass a car making a left turn.

Most of the time if I am on a sidewalk I am walking my 3 dogs. So when someone approaches, I move to the street side, to give me and the dogs more space to maneuver, and so the dogs don't feel boxed in. If no traffic, I have moved out into the street to avoid another dog walker (well, the DOG, not the walker, lol) or a kid in a stroller.