Or do young lads try to walk right into you deliberately?

[MrJohnsonAteMyCustard]

It's something I've noticed quite a lot recently, always with young lads/teenagers. It's as if they are deliberately walking into you with no intention of moving. I've come to expect it now so make sure I give them a very wide berth, because I've noticed that if I don't get out of the way they will most certainly at the very least brush past you.

For a long time I thought it was 1) Coincidence 2) Me needing a reasonable amount of personal space. But no, it happened today, in quick succession and the two lads obviously knew each other. Is this a new 'thing'??? Is it a game??

If anyone can enlighten me on this, that would be great as I'm wondering if it's just me they seem to want to antagonise

[jasmine1979]

I spend a huge amount of time out walking. I have experienced this a lot as well. However as mentioned above, it's groups of teenage girls that I have the problems with. Teenage boys have usually been nothing but polite, whilst the girls will take up the whole pavement and think nothing of slamming into you. I have a herniated disc in my back so really can't take this. It's causes me absolute agony. I've been physically pushed out onto the road on several occasions. If my back could take it I would certainly go to the inside of the pavement and hold my ground.
It's actually got to the stage where I will cross the road when I see a small group of teenage girls now. I hate that I do that, because I know that most are probably lovely and I don't want to demonise them all.
There's also a certain type of man (usually 30's) that sometimes does this as well. Usually the short muscle bound ones that waddle when they walk as they try to look really hard, but look like they've wet themselves. Tossers.

[WhereYouLeftIt]

I have experienced this, but not as deliberate as what happened to you MrJohnsonAteMyCustard. A few phone-starers (male and female) and a few I-own-the-pavement-types - invariably male. I stop dead, brace, and prepare for them to walk right into me. The phone-starers give a startled 'sorry!', half the I-own-the-pavement-types choose to swerve and the rest of the I-own-the-pavement-types look both peeved and surprised.

I consider it a public service.

[derxa]

Worse than manslammers are the people in groups who refuse to walk single file on narrow pavements, forcing you into the road. It's as if someone alone is less than a group. Infuriates me. When it comes to bargers I give as good as I get. One benefit of being tall with big arms and broad shoulders.
This.

[derxa]

And I find it's worse in SE England than Scotland

[WhereYouLeftIt]

Foretold by Dr Seuss - anyone remember the east-going Zax meeting the west-going Zax?

[Branleuse]

i dont think its young lads, I think its young people. Teenagers always do it. If I walk past the sixth form college it happens all the time with both sexes. They are still like children in that respect. They grow out of it. I just walk straight for them too and they move at the last moment

[ratspeaker]

Maybe they think they're in a Verve video

[Soubriquet]

I hate fetching my Dd from pre-school if the gramma school next door is on its lunch break

The amount of teenagers who don't watch where they are going is frustrating

They are too busy messing about with their friends to notice and usually end up pushing each other aside trying to get round me and my buggy.

I have had one teen fall into it. Luckily Ds wasn't hurt as the teen managed to grab the hood and right himself

Did he learn his lesson? Did he fuck! He still messes around with his friends and dodges out of the way at the last minute

I try to make sure I'm a little early to get Dd so I avoid the lunch rush

[Deathraystare]

I am not tiny so I tend to walk into them then they blush and walk around me. What does annoy me is when they 'walk' their dog into you. Of course you HAVE to get out the way and they get a 'thrill' that a dog has scared you. Err no, I just don't want to walk into an innocent animal. Not their fault their owner is a twat.

[Weebleswobbles]

I've had a lot of this in my town sadly and have resorted to wearing a go-pro. After one particular incident that left me really shaken, I shared the footage with the police who tracked the teenagers down and showed the footage to them, their parents and their teachers. The adults were shocked at seeing what the teenagers were doing when unsupervised. My identity was protected.

[Deathraystare]

Blokes on bikes tried to go into my dad on the pavement. He wacked them with his bag. He also used to get women try to push on the bus behind him, but putting their basket in fromt of him. He just went on getting on the bus to the sound of their baskets breaking and the sound of their sucked teeth noise!

[PickAChew]

I had a teenage girl do this to me, the other day, when I had heavy bags on a cobbled streets, so already had to concentrate on every step.

I only need a stick when it's icy or on very uneven ground, but I think there might be an advantage in carrying a good solid wooden one or a nice, walking spike all the time.

[booklooker]

I am so glad that posters have pointed out that it is not just lads.

It is annoying and intimidating, but it's not just lads and to describe it as 'manslamming' is just mysandry

[pixiebaby23]

Having become invisible (over 50), people, mainly men, try this all the time.

I usually spot them and just stop dead, or keep walking but look elsewhere - eg a shop window. So far, they have given way first. Twats.

[PickAChew]

And women about 10-15 years older than me are the worst for pushing in on buses, particularly when I have my teen boy with me. The hostility seems to go both ways and the poor kid bears the brunt of it.

[pixiebaby23]

Oh, and I ignore cyclists on pavements who ring their bells behind me to get out of the way. I also may have said 'doesn't your mummy let you ride on the road.'

[Deathraystare]

Oh, and I ignore cyclists on pavements who ring their bells behind me to get out of the way. I also may have said 'doesn't your mummy let you ride on the road.'



Be careful Pixie - my friend made a similar remark and the 'off her tits on drugs' young lady bashed my friend up badly.

[Soubriquet]

I ignore bell ringers behind me too but only because I don't hear them

[Janey50]

And don't get me started on cyclists on the pavement. I don't mind them ringing their bell to warn me they are approaching from behind so I don't inadvertantly wander into their path,but if they are ringing to 'tell me' to move out of their way,it ain't happening. They can go round me on the road,or the grass verge.

[HardcoreLadyType]

As others have said, I find the worst for this is parents on the school run. Two parents will often be yabbering away together, and ignore the fact that the child that is holding their hand is about to walk into someone (me) coming the other way.

Regardless of who is doing it, I go into bossy old trout mode, with a loud "excuse me", and usually have no problem getting by. I have got better at taking up space as I've got older.

[JemimaMuddledUp]

I definitely find it worse with teenage girls than boys here. I often walk past a secondary school on my lunchbreak and there is a definite trend that boys go single file to let you pass whereas girls keep walking three abreast and if you don't move they just walk into you. Hugely arrogant, entitled attitude.

[LadyPW]

And don't get me started on cyclists on the pavement. I don't mind them ringing their bell to warn me they are approaching from behind so I don't inadvertantly wander into their path,but if they are ringing to 'tell me' to move out of their way,it ain't happening. They can go round me on the road,or the grass verge.
It's the ones who come up behind me at speed without even bothering to ring a bell & force me (and dog) to jump into the bushes to try (and fail) and avoid being rammed by their handlebars - a mother and her fairly sizeable (hefty) son!

[Batteriesallgone]

You should all move to the west country. Teens here move out of the way and I've never got anything but curtesy from young people (when wrangling my kids, especially). I'm pregnant again and I expect this time to be like the last - only young men can be relied on to help with the pushchair / give me a seat on the bus.

Women over 50 on the other hand seem to despise my very existence. I've been stopped in the street before by a 60ish aged women telling me not to dress like a slut (high neck, to the knee, thick black knitted dress but - horror! - it was stretched over my bump, clearly revealing the evidence of SEX). Only time I've ever cried is when an older women on the bus pushed me to get to the last seat first, I was 7m pregnant and in a lot of pain in my joints.

Am I basically saying wherever/whoever you are there's often one demographic that looks down on you and treats you like shit? Maybe yeah. How depressing.

[Batteriesallgone]

Ever cried on public transport that should say! Not ever!

[FannyFifer]

This has happened me a couple of times, I stand my ground & shoulder barge or use my elbow.
Last time was a group of guys early 20s, I had my wee girl with me, the first guy barged into me, I elbowed him, next guy tried it & I full on shoved him, busy street so I just kept walking.
I will not put up with that kind of shit.