People walking in to you

[anything I don't mind]

Stop looking at your phone for a start. I won't move out of the way of anyone not looking where they are going. But as a general point of advice it's probably the way you walk. If you walk with purpose (not fast, not slow, just with confidence and purpose) I find most people try not to walk into you as they realise you probably won't avoid them. If you walk in a timid way with shoulders hunched and head down then your body language will be sending signals that you will want to avoid them.

It is true I do tend to ignore people rather than making eye contact with people. Only because otherwise you end up getting dirty looks from people all day for no reason. So i tend to just look past people or down I guess. Don't get me wrong I don't walk around avoiding to look at people, i just don't stair down people as i walk. I do have a problem with my foot as well and try to correct my walk and end up looking at my foot/leg when i am walking a distance and where i don't have to avoid people like an empty street. Usually i can walk from the train station to my office in about 8-10 mins and the streets are not busy. Depending on what the time most of the streets are empty. Which makes it even more odd when people seems to get in my way. Sure in a busy train station I don't expect people to get out of my way as that would be unreasonable, so i avoid people and stop and so on when trying to walk through a crowd.

 

[Tosno]

anything I don't mind, never go to Russia it will break you, non stop people walking into you, I used to move out the way being a good English gentleman, now just carry on walking, I'm over 6 foot and a stone overweight why should I move, now it's crash, crash, crash and I act like nothing has happened, the last time a fat middle age woman tried it, crashed into her and her hand bag went flying into the street

 

[Sliver]

I like it when you do that street dance thing. You know, you are walking toward someone and as they approach you, you both simultaneously move in the same direction and then you both move the other way and then you both say sorry and pass each other. Happens often with me.

 

[fez]

People are generally either completely ignorant to the rest of the world or they actively believe that they shouldn't be courteous to other humans. If you walk about in london you will see it all the time.

Groups of 2-3 people will spread out just enough to block off the whole path. In stations people fan out when walking down the paths even though they are walking at exactly the same speed as the people in front of them.

People love to stop either just before or just after the ticket barriers to make sure they block them off while they have a chat, wait for their friends or just generally faff as they look for their ticket.

The worst tends to be the roaming bands of mums with their prams though. They travel in packs and will not move for man nor beast. Militant I tell thee.

 

[Pawnless Endgame]

Its bearable outdoors when you can hop onto the road to overtake, but in corridoors there is no reasonable excuse to not leave any gaps, even for folk walking the other direction

My grudge is people at work who hold their "meetings" in choke points the corridor. Why do people do that, and not use an empty office or 2 doors down where the corridor is wider? It affects EVERY workplace I've worked in!

Nowadays, I march towards them to make my presence known and they budge sharpish, but the following day it's same old same old.

 

[krooton]

It is true I do tend to ignore people rather than making eye contact with people. Only because otherwise you end up getting dirty looks from people all day for no reason.

I just get coy smiles from the ladies and knowing nods from the gents.

PEBPAF



(that's pavement and fedora)

 

[Raymond Lin]

Perhaps they did do it on purpose.

 

[doofer]

I've seen people trip over themselves to get out of my way but I'm not a dainty little chap.

 

[Sixense]

lol Russia back in Lithuania I would avoid (like, you see a few, you make sure you're 2ft away at least) tracksuit people, they're not afraid to pull a knife if you bump into them. Now here if there's enough space I'll take slight sidesteps to some direction to avoid contact right when I see someone.
Wish more people would get that when I start going to one side of pathwalk 50 meters in advance, so your 15st 5'6" female mountain of fat doesn't roll over me, you're not supposed to switch sides 3 meters until contact. And then I'm at fault for not watching where I'm going Happens way more often than you'd think.

 

[Spook187]

One you live in London(Pond Life) and the other they are doing it on purpose because they know it's you who thinks we never landed on the moon or send probes to distant planets

 

[Dis86]

I have people walk in to me all the time. Not exactly sure how I'm difficult to see, I'm not exactly skinny!

Best one was in a shop one day when some brat ran smack in to me as I'm standing still looking at something on a shelf (I think it was a CD). Kid falls on its arse and starts crying. Mother comes over and starts having a go at me! Before I could even open my mouth a little old lady behind me walks over and tells the mother to wind her neck in, get control of her idiot child and buy it a guide dog!

 

[PapaLazaru]

One you live in London(Pond Life)

Ironic coming from someone who lives in Cumbria, which resembles a massive pond at the moment.

 

[Dis86]

Ironic coming from someone who lives in Cumbria, which resembles a massive pond at the moment.

Takes pond life to know pond life?

 

[adolf hamster]

My grudge is people at work who hold their "meetings" in choke points the corridor. Why do people do that, and not use an empty office or 2 doors down where the corridor is wider? It affects EVERY workplace I've worked in!

Nowadays, I march towards them to make my presence known and they budge sharpish, but the following day it's same old same old.

Not so much of that where i am, but we have really short really narrow corridors so it's not practical for anyone to stop.

Another issue i get a lot is the 40mph commuters casually dandering back home when their town is the halfway point on my route, it's a road you cant overtake on safely so its just rage until the rare occasion you get the combination of no opposite traffic and a long enough stretch of road, at which point the buggers always speed up.

Thing is as with the road and the pavement everyone feels their own journey and their own speed is the best, i rage about the slow drivers, they rage when i finally get to overtake them bouncing off the limiter to gain speed. Thing is both parties have equal share.

Maybe there should be a minimum speed limits on roads (at least for main roads) as well as maximums, after all people being slow can be just as dangerous as going fast.

 

[Housey]

It does my head in. The amount of times I have had women and men simply walk into me with an arrogance that I MUST stop in That London is huge, usually followed by a tut as I chose to ignore their right of way. There is no reason for it, plenty of room. I had some guy have a go because I DARED to take a wheeled bag onto an escalator, that he failed to see at Liverpool street. He got told to 'go **** himself', nearly made his dicky bow blush (yea you know the sort).

My colleague who was with me from posh cheshire was of the opinion "he was being a hunt and needed telling our kid". Think that's what he said

 

[snappyfish]

It's the Lynx affect!!

 

[Slam62]

You need a man with a red flag to walk a few yards in front of you.

 

[bayo000]

No, I'm slim

 

[spengos]

I hear ya OP. Pathway etiquette should definitely be a thing.

I do a lot of walking, although not in London, but experience similar issues. I've even got categories:

• Double Trouble - Two people(usually couples) walking towards you that won't go single file when they walk passed and inevitably pushing you into the road as there's not enough space. Man, this one makes my blood boil.
  
• Middle Laners - These are the people that seem to look straight through you. Walking towards these idiots down a narrow pathway and they just amble down the middle like you're not there. Stick to your side!
  
• Shop Zombies - These are the people that walk out of a shop or any doorway and just stop in the middle of the your path. They don't seem to realise where they are or what they're doing. Old people seem particularly bad for this.
  
• The Magnet - So you're walking down a path and see someone approaching you. You can see they're sticking to a particular side so you pick the other side hoping to stay out of their way. You get within 20 feet and they started drifting over to your side! It usually happens slowly and catches you off-guard. With enough notice you can quickly step over to the other side, but occasionally I've been pushed up against a wall or bush trying to avoid them.

 

[Zefan]

Groen, perhaps your magnificent fedora is too large? Did you ever get cautioned for stalking that Pret a Manger employee by the way?

I've never loved you more <3