Joggers should be banned from paths and pavements

[BalancedIndividual]

As a car driver I find that the occasional cyclist breaks highway codes, cycles dangerously, or cycles without care and consideration. Key word being occasional, so no biggie. Just like how the occasional car diver is a .

But as a pedestrian going for a stroll in the park, the number of rude, selfish, careless and aggressive joggers i've seen is ridiculous high.

I see a jogger coming towards me, I walk to the side/edge of the path, but joggers always decide to keep running straight down the middle....

Similar to the above, joggers not keep a safe distance, and actually brushing past me.

And lastly, the worst offenders, joggers running side by side taking up the whole path, coming towards me, and giving me looks as if im supposed to jump out the way and off the path. ***

I honestly think legislation should be brought in to ban jogging on paths and pavements. Restricting joggers to grassland/cross country, outdoor tracks, private land, and the gym. The same way that cycling isnt permitted on pavements.

AIBU?

Same here OP. I tend to walk in the road, and leave the joggers to the footpaths, or drive somewhere quiet and walk in fields. It would be good if there were a way to share footpaths without being breathed over.. I don't get it. People round here are really good in supermarkets etc, and usually considerate of others, but jogging seems to take precedence over covid advice.

@Happytentoes

Mmm, do you have a speed limit in mind for these joggers, OP?

Ime some joggers can be overtaken by a brisk paced walk , while others are the full Mo Farah.
Either way, my 2 large dogs & I navigate them as we do the pushchairs, large families out for a stroll, cyclists who should be on the road etc.
Just smile and share.

Ooh good point. I walk really quickly. Would I be on the OPs banned list? I also enjoy playing patriarchy chicken and so rarely deviate from my path, which I'm assuming is also a black mark against me. I ought to walk sedately and veer wildly. Deary deary me. Lawks.

I exercise too...in the gym well isn't it nice for you you can afford one. And get to one. And fit it in around your life. Vs not being able to afford one, or having an extra hour for the round trip commute.

YABU obviously. Runners are pedestrians,so you can't compare them with cyclists not being allowed on pavements. I find it very difficult to believe that where you live joggers always decide to keep running straight down the middle - that's certainly not the case where I live. I fail to see why well-behaved runners should be banned just because some are inconsiderate. I agree with a pp - I see far far more inconsiderate cyclists and car drivers than runners.

I honestly think legislation should be brought in to ban jogging on paths and pavements. Restricting joggers to grassland/cross country, outdoor tracks, private land, and the gym.

That's really not going to work. Not everyone has access to those things.

Lots of joggers behave badly, and it's very annoying when they insist on taking up the whole path, which a fair number do in the main park near us. I don't think legislation is, nor could be, the answer. Sometimes in life you have to accept that other people choose to be dicks. Also gyms, shops and other entertainment are closed, once they reopen the parks will be less crowded again for the normal park users. Just a few more months to go.

You said the word ‘joggers’ so much I have semantic satiation.

Are you jealous of joggers?

pavements are for pedestrians

Joggers are pedestrians! Lots of people plow forward expecting you to move for them, either give ground or assert yourself by being more determined than they are.

(Again, happy for people to jog. But do it off the paths and pavements. Gym, track, private land, cross country)

All of those would require me to get in my car and drive. Nope, I can go for a run from my own front door which is far healthier and better for the environment. Shame about all those pesky pedestrians of course, but I find I can deal with those simply by running straight at them, panting heavily and windmilling my arms to blast them out of my way.

@Happytentoes

Mmm, do you have a speed limit in mind for these joggers, OP?

Ime some joggers can be overtaken by a brisk paced walk , while others are the full Mo Farah.
Either way, my 2 large dogs & I navigate them as we do the pushchairs, large families out for a stroll, cyclists who should be on the road etc.
Just smile and share.

Im normally happy to, but the joggers in my local park are honestly a menace... Beddington Park.

If anyone is curious, I used to jog when I was younger as well (in parks). But I would always jog off the path when I saw people on it or coming towards me. But people these days dont seem to have the same ethos at all.

pedestrians erratically walking children dogs on ridiculously long leads puppies??

So basically you want to put a speed limit on how fast people go on pavements? And also limit exercise even more than it already has been?

You exercise in the gym... which are all closed right now?

Yabu

I personally haven’t had the same experience with runners. Most people running near my home go into the road or on the grass when passing people walking on the pavement.

Yea there’s some annoying joggers but then some people in life are just annoying. Doesn’t mean it has to be legislated against...people just need to build up the social emotional skills to deal with people occasionally being dicks.

I would t want to do anything to make such a simple free form of exercise harder for people.

But surely that’s just like saying that overweight people who walk too slowly and take up too much space and annoy people who are walking faster should be banned.

Or dogs because they might trip you up. Or kids on scooters. Or elderly people and their walking sticks.

It’s great that people want to jog. They are keeping fit, staying healthy and enjoying the fresh air. They are pedestrians, in the same way as everyone else using the pavement.

Of course all people should be considering others, but you probably annoy the joggers as much as they annoy you!

Joggers
Joggers
Joggers
Joggers
Joggers

Ooh that's made me think - can we can baggy, thin grey jersey jogging bottoms from being worn by people on pavements please? Particularly those worn by teenage / young adult boys/men that seemingly are designed so they can walk around all day with their hands on their genitals?

That would be nice.

I've just got back from a run. I ran on the grass verge around pedestrians many times. And they moved to the other side. Everyone was happy.
You're being dramatic.

I don't agree with banning them, but I do agree that a sizeable minority of joggers are objectionable and downright nasty. I am disabled and use a mobility scooter in my local park, and I have literally been sworn at for being "in the way" of joggers - on pathways that are over 16 feet wide! And that is on more than one occasion. We also have a group of "military style training" people who keep fit by exercising in a group that is between 8 and 13 people in size, never socially distance (and actually shouldn't even be out together) and spread themselves and their equipment right across said pathways every weekend morning making it impossible for people to even get past without stepping off the path and trudging across often wet and muddy ground. Keeping fit should not mean that you have a manners lobotomy.

What even is the relevance of your first paragraph?

You must give the wrong impression to people. This never happens to me - randoms always respect me enough to move to the side. And I’m just a fashionable 23 year old, I’m not commandeering authority over them or dressed in business attire. I guess I just don’t come across as meek or irrelevant. It goes both ways too, if someone comes towards you feel free to move over to the side yourself.

@marchez

Reminds me of that thread where someone was complaining that someone else had the audacity to STAND on the pavement and have a socially distanced chat

The bastards. How very dare they.

When I'm out running I actually find the rudest people are walkers who think they own the canal towpath and how dare anyone think they are allowed to use it for running! It's great fund dodgy walkers taking up the whole path, loose dogs, toddlers and cyclists when you're running.
Seriously though, most people are polite and I'm not going to tarnish that above list of beings with same brush. Have my first op. You are being ludicrous and you do not take precedence over other footpath users just because you are going slower.

Hah - I hate the word joggers. Its so 80s!

You are obvs being v unreasonable. I walk lots. I used to run lots. Here is my experience of encountering runners/joggers:

Sometimes I move out the way.
Sometimes they move out the way.
Sometimes if I've moved they say thanks,sometimes they don't. No bother either way.

All of the above is fine. I have literally never encountered what you late describing.

@dootdoot

You exercise in the gym... which are all closed right now?

Not since lockdown...i meant generally. I meant ban it postcovid / lockdown.

A jogger pushed me into the road when I was 7 months pregnant as I didn’t get out of his way quick enough. I couldn’t report it as he was long gone and it was a residential street with no CCTV. I’ve also been spat on and verbally abused by joggers for merely walking on the pavement. I find joggers do behave terribly but I don’t think they should be banned, not sure how that would work. I live near a huge park though, so no idea why they don’t start their jog once they are in the park. People exercising jogging or cycling need to understand they do not get priority over other pedestrians just because they are moving faster. That seems to be the issue.

Thought it was a thread about a dress code on the pavements