People who don't move out the way on the pavement

[EarwigO]

Is it just me or is this getting worse?
You're walking along, someone (or a group of people) come the other way, you both need to move slightly to pass without colliding. Only they don't.

It used to be a thing I noticed men doing - I got so annoyed with having to step into the gutter/press myself against a wall to avoid them, I stopped doing it and let them walk into me. At which point they invariably apologised!

But it seems to happen so much more frequently now, and not with men - usually a couple or a group of women.
Do they honestly not notice you? Not care? Just expect you to disappear out their way?

My DD1, who is 15, is registered blind and uses a long cane - I hate and despise every single idiot who literally jumps across her cane to gain themselves a metre advantage on the pavement. It happens shockingly frequently. I dream of inventing a cane with lethal spurs at the click of a button!

Yes, I've definitely noticed this happening much more often in the past few years. And not only in London.

What I started doing (whether I have a buggy with me or not) is to start walking more slowly when I approach such people. This way they have a couple of extra seconds to realise that they need to move a bit (or to form a single file) and if we do collide, it's not a "high impact" collision 😂 Seems to be working so far!

I've stepped to one side when people are on their phones. I've still been walked into. No apology just a dirty look for being in "their" way

I have been known to just stand still when this happens and make myself an immovable object 🤣

I dread becoming older and/or disabled. Was out in town yesterday. Groups of young people walking 4 abreast and not moving for anyone. Couples taking up the whole pavement unaware of people in front of or behind them trying to get past. People expecting you to step into the road or, if there are billboards or bins on the pavements, expecting you to be the one to wait until they have passed.

I always give lots of room to anyone who looks like they need it but I am getting so tired of inconsiderate people on narrow pavements.

Yes dog walkers are the worst offenders. When I am out with my children they expect me to risk all of us being run over all because of their annoying pet. Sometimes they mark sarcastic comments as they pass.

Agree completely OP - manners in general seem to be gone. You step and let someone past and they don’t even notice. You make way, no thank you. No pleases. People look up and spot you but then don’t move at all. Best part is when they have their heads down reading on their phones and stop/start, stop/start and don’t acknowledge that they’re holding you up and being insanely unpredictable. Oh and the many many cars parked more than half way across the pavements so you can’t get through with a child/pram/wheelchair/mobility scooter. My sister has MS for crying out loud and once fell face forward onto street because she had to manoeuvre around someone who couldn’t be bothered to move their vehicle (they were sitting in it texting!)
She has no use of arms or legs so could easily have been hit by a car, but hey, the rights of a wing mirror over a person right? Sick to death of entitled assholes.

People have a lack of social awareness and are oblivious of their surroundings and what's going on around them. These are usually the ones who wonder why they get mugged or have their mobile phones snatched in the street.

Unbelievable, isn't it?

I was walking along a narrow pavement today and the council, for some reason, had erected a barrier across the road that was jutting onto the pavement so one section was even narrower, only room for one person to pass.

I saw an older woman (maybe 60s?) on her bike coming towards me on the pavement so I stopped for a few seconds to allow her to come past the barrier. Next thing I know, some lad in his 20s barges past me, tutting. He gets two more paces before he's nose-to-wheel with the cyclist and they both have to stop and maneuver around each other.

Little bit of manners and common sense lacking with some folk!

We had a classic when out with adult DD in her wheelchair.

young woman came charging towards us, like she was playing “chicken”

Walked straight into DD and ended up banging her leg on the footrests of the wheelchair. She gave an exaggerated yelp and started sort of jumping up and down on one legs on the spot. we just smiled sweetly and continued on.

seriously - have some basic consideration for folk in wheelchairs. They have enough going on in their lives already without mindless idiots treating them as if they are invisible.

I couldn’t move out of the way of a mobility scooter fast enough due to hip pain and the woman just plugged straight into me it is funny looking back but very painful at the time

Ploughed into me

@longwayoff "I'm old and in pain. Moving to one side causes me more pain. I'm not moving for anyone unless they've got small kids or a pushchair."

rude much?
I hope you run into @GoodChat one day😏

I live in the SW as well and I was trying to think when this last happened to me and I can't remember. What often happens to me is I go the same way as the person coming the other way and then we both swap, laugh and one of us moves first. It's a sort of dance.

Pavement cyclist fast round a corner are another hazard around here.

it’s just incredibly dangerous and they shouldn’t be on the pavement in the first place. Pavements are for pedestrians.

Yes! I spend the whole time trying to manoeuvre my youngest because couples and other parents with children walking at a snail’s pace can’t go in a straight line on an obviously narrow pavement. Pretty sure, the children know how to do so since they have to do such things at school.

My DH says I need to be more gruff instead of polite but I shouldn’t have to be rude for people to allow me to pass on the pavement. What annoys me more is when I have the pram with both children on and someone comes with their own children onto the pavement already sees me coming yet decides to stay where they are without moving, blocking my way, and be “shocked” that I ask them to move out of the way instead of waiting for them to sort themselves out.

I find this too - I appreciate that some people have mobility issues and I'm not referring to them. I'm also not referring to people walking slowly to drink in a particularly lovely view. I'm referring to seemingly healthy people meandering at 1 mile per hour along very unscenic routes. Don't they have anywhere else to be / anything else to do?!

I do think that's true. Not queuing. Looking at phones or talking in the theatre or cinema. Taking up a lot of space on public transport or in a cafe (table of four when a person on their own in a busy space) etc. Cycling on the pavement dangerously. Not indicating in a car. Today there was someone in front of me who just stopped in the middle of the road because they'd seen a friend (no indicator/no pulling to the side, just stopping in the middle of the road).

I liked manners as I thought it made life go more smoothly but there's no point in doing it unilaterally.

We need covid back, when people were literally throwing themselves into traffic to avoid passing you in the pavement 😂😂 I still laugh at the insanity of it.

Oh, it's so much fun. Mostly, with most people where I live we eye each other up discreetly from a distance and just naturally move to one side of the pavement or the other, but you can tell which of the young guys (and there's usually a lot going up and down the hill where I play it the most because it's on the way to the cheap gym all the gen z-ers go to) are game for Patriarchy Chicken because they see you (often they are at least two abreast, not usually just them on their own), know you're coming, and still come at you two abreast without moving at all, not one inch given. So instead of doing the meek smaller weaker female thing and turning sideways to let them past I just keep walking face on to see what they'll do. Once engaged with Patriarchy Chicken, they do one of two thing - 1) avoid me at the last second, looking a bit shocked that they had to move, or 2) (which has only ever happened once), walked straight into a whole half of my body. Worth it.

For god sake if you see someone on the news for breaking an old ladies hip isn't going me to me isn't it 😩🤣

PS @longwayoff, if that's the case just slow down so you're behind the person you're walking with so others can get round you

I should add, I am not in the middle of the pavement like an arsehole, I am always on the left, giving lots of space on my right. They still don't move though, so Patriarchy Chicken is a great method to show them that not everyone moves out of the way for them. Pedantic of me? Yes. I win what battles I can.

And when you've passed them, they're too busy on their phones

I've started doing a very sarcastic "oh don't mention it".

I've been increasingly wound up this week by the total lack of consideration for others that so many people are displaying.

I was driving very slowly down a narrowish jetty to do a delivery the other day. It was covered in kids (not a problem) and a few parents. What was a problem was the kids refusing to budge out of the way, and shoving each other in front of the car etc. I mouthed "FFFS" in an admittedly exasperated fashion and one of the parents yelled FUCK YOU THEN at me.

Nice.