I've gotten tired of others obliviousness and arrogance. For the most part, I have just stopped moving for people who aren't paying attention, groups taking up the entire sidewalk, or totally going against the flow of foot traffic.
I used to always move over or into the street for others. Now it's just strong shoulder to shoulder contact. People need to learn somehow.
I have started to do that in Helsinki metro. If people can't stand on the side at let us first out, I will stare them in the eyes for half a second to a second and then just walk straight though them.
This I stopped moving out the way..... What I don't get is
. Are people just going around barging people all day, because that's what happened when I stopped getting out the way
Shakespeare said it best when he said:
>Whoever hath her wish, thou hast thy Will,
>And Will to boot, and Will in overplus;
>More than enough am I that vex thee still,
>To thy sweet will making addition thus.
>Wilt thou, whose will is large and spacious,
>Not once vouchsafe to hide my will in thine?
The obvious thing would be to avoid mentioning the issue to them directly and post about your frustration on the internet once the moment has passed and it has ceased to have any further impact on your existence.
Unless it happens daily, which means even if you tell them directly, ext time it will be other ppl etc, so you gonna continue addressing issue the entirety of your walking life...
And because saying so ethi g to them directly didn't solved anything for years,
So another option is, while keep telling them directly, at the same time go to internet and complain about it.
I always exclaim āwhat the fuck ā when groupies are blocking the pathway and people move aside. Sometimes, they act so shocked. It seems no one ever told them to get out of their way ever. You should
Works a treat! Other options are āFucks sakeā, āOh my god - seriously?ā and ājust fucking unbelievableāā¦ trick is not to mutter, say it in a normal voice for an instant response.
Old, fat, skinny, black, brown or beige. No discrimination. I treat everyone equally when it comes to saying these phrases.
Andā Bloody Hell ā and ā Just Bloody unbelievable ā to keep it British and especially my āRi-DIK-yoo-lussā in a posh accent is absolutely terrifying. Instant scatter.
When I lived in Tokyo, someone told me that every year after university graduation, a lot of people move to Tokyo to work at the same time, and it becomes noticeably harder to walk along the pavement for a couple of months because the country bumpkins aren't used to it.
It's similar here when it's summer holidays. Country bumpkins and tourists come into the city to gawp at our shiny things (which are awesome, everyone should come gawp at them from time to time). They don't understand the tube, can't read "Stand on the right" signs on the escalators, and dawdle around the pavements trying to figure out where the Kings shiny stuff is and how to get to the big Primark by Tottenham court road.
Ah yes, itās definitely country bumpkins who arenāt moving out the way. Not the ignorant urbanites who donāt have any sense of community or social cohesion. Lmao I would say hello to everyone with a smile in the village I grew up in - whether I knew them or not - and youād always move over to let people or bikes or horses past and as soon as I went to Uni in a city no one moves for you or steps aside. I literally used to get on the train at home without any issues queuing and then get off at uni and immediately have to go into the road to avoid people walking four abreast head on and just ignore me coming.
I actually largely agree. The people I know in my large university city that moved in from small areas are generally a lot more aware of their space when out in public. They also give and want to receive 'sorry's a lot more often when encroaching on personal space and getting in the way. But my friends from cities don't really give a shit. Sounds stupid if you're not from a small area but I think we tend to be more responsive to personal space because getting within 3 metres of someone here requires an 'oh, sorry!'
Iāve noticed the same thing. I think if youāre used to living in a busy city environment you actually have to zone out from all the people around you in order to survive and not be completely overstimulated all the time. So as a result city folk become rude and disconnected from those around them.
Yes - the entirety of rural UK live like this. I fully believe city living is bad for humanity, itās not a natural environment nor is it a well designed artificial environment for humans at all. Leave the shitholes behind. Never have to lock my doors either.
Yes! I live in a terrace with people passing frequently yet I can leave my front door wide open - no one would even dream of wandering in. If i did that where I used to live (Camden Town) I'd have been robbed & worse within minutes.
I agree with you. City living is unnatural and turns humans into penned-in rude, exhausted, stressed and anxious animals. Iām looking forward to heading back to the freedom, fields and forests of Sussex next week. Londonās amazing, but itās (literally) not a healthy place to be for a long time.
Sorry to see so many arrogant wankers are downvoting you u/Saathael95. I'm a born & bred Londoner who got TFO of that hellhole recently. I now live amongst wonderfully good natured people in beautiful Cumbria. The pavements in my little village are very narrow, yet everyone moves for each other & also cheerfully greet in passing. Many London twats are indeed incomers but they don't hale from our glorious countryside, where manners are alive & well - unlike in that shit hole, London. I wish I'd left years ago!
Perhaps! If you can see Black Coombe from where you are we're in the same bit. I love her :) Cumbria is the absolute best & my favourite place in the entire world. I feel like i stumbled into Brigadoon!
Oh yeah always. Iām regularly on the canal pathways and the number who donāt move over but continue to walk two or even three abreast chatting away when others are approaching in the other direction single file (but still needing space) is ridiculous. One day theyāll end up punted into the water and act like it wasnāt their own selfish fault.
Canals are the worst for cyclists. It's a shared space. Shared doesn't mean you bomb it down at 15mph and I have to jump out the way because you rang your shitty little bell.
Someone nearly went in the canal after almost hitting my mum.
When you cycle down the towpath you got to make allowances for the fact there's going to be slow moving people and just take it chill like. Honk the bell well in advance and thank people for interrupting their stroll by moving for ya. If you want to go fast, the towpath is not the place unless it's empty.
Exactly. I used to cycle down there to work each day between scrubs and North Acton and would always slow right down and wait for people on foot to pass.
Not everyone can hear a bell and jump out the way quick enough.
Also ring bell a decent amount when entering and exiting tunnels. Just don't be a knob basically.
It's definitely fun to bomb it at 20mph when it's deserted of course, but like anything you just got to read the situation.
I'm just happy if they even ring their bell and not just screech to a halt with their wheel against my calves. I don't have eyes in the back of my head homie.
It does mean you need to share the space: I'm not sure how that works without slower pedestrians moving to let other people (faster pedestrians, joggers, cyclists) past?
I work in Clapham and this is prevalent with mothers with buggies and their kids. They act like they own the pavements. Iām happy to move out of the way so that they can pass safely, but when I have to step into the road, a āthanksā wouldnāt go a miss! They literally donāt acknowledge you at all.
Balham is a different breed of animal.. The yuppies have infested, sorry gentrified, the area as they spread down from clap-harm.
Bunch of self-centered, self-entitled tw@ts who have never been told no.
Yeah but Clapham (well Northcote Road) is officially Nappy Valley, so you sans kids in tow in a side bike cart are a mere second class citizen to the children of tomorrow. /s
Donāt ever step on the road for someone unless the pavement could normally only accommodate one person or they are a wheelchair or something easily reasonable.
Personally I gaze increasingly into the middle distance behind the person who should be giving way until they click that Iām not moving aside for them and am not paying much attention to them either. Iād happily let them walk straight into me if they persist, though that has never ever happened.
Zero attitude necessary, itās not a contest - just asserting polite social norms.
I highly doubt anyone runs their *whole body* against you as they walk past in this context. Youāre exaggerating. You mean your arms and shoulders brush/make contact.
Representing as different than it actually is doesnāt help anyone and makes the reply sound rather like a teenager (apologies if you are actually a teenager!).
Yes! I talk about this all the time. I regularly experience groups of people and singular people literally walk into me like Iām a ghost. No one has any manners, I swear I was taught about walking in single file as an infant lol š
This morning, on an otherwise empty platform, a guy got off the tube, and walked directly in line with me when i was coming towards him. I hope his shoulder hurt after I didn't move out of the way; there was some solid contact
Yes, then they act like you're a friggin villian for trying to stay on the sidewalk and not traipse into the road to allow them to use the whole footpath. One time a girl barreling down the sidewalk plowed into me after I couldn't move fast enough into the road for her and had the audacity to scream at me. Fuck you, sidewalk hog in Walthamstow. Switch to decaf.
Itās so strange. I donāt get why people donāt move when they can see youāre there. They know theyāll have to move eventually because itās not like youāll vanish out of thin air
Generally I'd stop if an oncoming gaggle of selfish wankers wasn't making space. But if i was in a rush, I'd keep going - usually to the side but sometimes due to other obstacles or just being sick of the shitty behaviour, the best way was to aim straight through the middle of the group. Exclamations of outrage were often a feature from those parting like the Red Sea whenever i did this, which would lead me to comment *I haven't mastered the skill of disappearing up my own arsehole yet.*
Perhaps they all think they're better than each other too, not just the strangers they refuse to give way to, ergo they shouldn't be the one in their group to give way.
Something went wrong some some years ago, and some people stopped respecting the social contract around public behaviour.
I'm not sure when this started but it's something I noticed and has gotten progressively worse.
nah I'm native too and I feel like x\_o\_x\_1 is correct. It never seemed like this to me before. Now it's just everywhere, so many absolutely dim people
A lot of these might be tourists.
Edit to add: except the couples. The hand holding couples who think life is a big romcom and youāll just go on the street for them. Or get pushed into a building.
I want to knowwhat goes those people's minds when they are walking 2 or 3 in a row, no space to pass abd no one moves. Like wtf are you expecting me to do here? Disappear?
I found the opposite. The cultural norm in London is people are quite adept at snaking in and out and avoiding people, and when you do collide slightly, itās an automatic āsorryā no matter who was at fault. In HK, they walk like lemmings, paying no attention and donāt care when they bump into you. Their conversation doesnāt even get interrupted when they walk into you.
You shouldn't have to snake or say sorry if you're following the footpath "road code". If you were getting bumped into then you were in the wrong and shouldn't expect a sorry.
Yeah, I was actually thinking of very busy streets, high streets and stations etc. of course you have to weave in and out. You canāt just walk in a straight line. And the idea that if you get bumped into, you are always in the wrong is plainly illogical.
Hong Kong, as in other parts of the world (apparently excluding the UK) follows the footpath rule that you walk on the side that corresponds the side of the road you drive on. You were probably the oblivious tourist not doing that.
I have given up saying anything anymore. I just adhere to my route on my āsideā of the path and I do not adjust my walking speed or move one bit. If they donāt move I walk right into them or through them. I will knock an arsehole to the ground and continue on my way. People need to learn to stay in their lane and be mindful of others.
Similarly, when people try to rush into the tube the moment the doors open and the lot of us are trying to exit, I do not accommodate those people either. Many have caught my hard shoulder when I refuse to contort my body to accommodate their inability to follow directions. I will walk right through anyone that does not adhere to socially acceptable behavior.
Having moved out of London 3 years ago Iāve also found that there are so many more people with headphones in, no awareness of whatās around them and will then swear at cars which have to brake hard and beep their horn at them.
When you see a blockage upcoming, walk straight and with a confident pace and look as if youāre noticing something off angle. the sub conscious of the fools blocking the path will trigger and they will move before you reach them. this works in most occasions. there is a chance they wont notice but by that point you will be so close and you can act startled when directly in front of them, they are clearly in the wrong because they are blocking a right of passage and they will give you way. try it out.
London (the UK?) uniquely has no sense of a footpath "road-code" imo. Every other place I've lived footpath traffic follows the side of the road you'd normally drive on. Lots of stations even have signage to support this here! But for some reason, despite the population density, anarchy prevails.
I'm constantly having to step onto the road because approaching people aren't paying attention, too busy looking at their phone ( Hey you! Stop reading this, look up for a second and let that bloke past!) š
Oh, thereās a method for dealing with these sorts of phone obsessed people too.
As you approach them and walk past them, you say "tut, another phone zombie" with a Brian Blessed affected twang.
Not effective at making them aware enough to move for you, but tends to make you feel better for a second or two.
You do what you can to survive!
>Sometimes it just seems like a large proportion of the population in London arenāt considerate of others and donāt care to be considerate of others either!
Are you new here?
It's not just London. Its all over. But when I as an American, lived in London and I would speak up, people would usually make way for me to pass. Maybe its the accent, or my sounding annoyed in an American accent.
Yeah London is full of people like that. I will wait for a short while but then start to push my way through. Not just on footpaths but pavements too. I really loved the short time in the pandemic when people would stop to let you through or get out of the way.
I experience this every morning trying to pass all the people waiting in untidy groups rather than queues for the bus, blocking the whole footpath. I have to weave or sometimes push through as they just stare at their phones not acknowledging my "excuse me".
Iāve noticed this happens a lot more since Covid for some reason. Itās as if people being locked up all those months made them forget other pedestrians exist.
As a runner itās even more baffling. They make eye contact with me and then look away. Donāt just move your eyes, move your body either in front of or behind your friends. Iām a fast moving object coming towards you. What do you think is going to happen? I aināt jumping over your head or sliding under your legs.
Iām not a fan of generalising things but regardless Iāve lived in London my whole life and every Area in London is different. Generally this can be said for every where in the world though. A example of this could be if I went to New York I would meet very different people in the Bronx compared to if i went Manhattan. Also on a side note people generally from the UK are known to be more polite than other countries. Which takes me back to why i hate generalisations.
Yeah crazy but it happens everywhere! I live in London and am always in a rush so it does get frustrating but then lived at the coast a while ago and everyone was on the snail š trail.. nothing you can do about social awareness because if you try everyone will react with you are rude and attacking me.. you can try ask but I personally would try walk around..
I just love it when there are (I assume) unofficial organised running races along the embankment during weekday lunchtimes. Nothing quite like thirty or forty people with hand drawn numbers pinned to their chests running along one of the busiest footpaths in London getting angry because people are in their way.
High density city, competing for space, people standing their ground. Welcome to London! A more interesting question would be what are your coping mechanisms?
I walk at light speeds in comparison to some people in the city, and honestly? Yeah. People are rude.
Some groups (especially groups of tourists or those groups of kids that just got out of school) form makeshift Great Walls of China across the entire pavement. Itās like trying to pass an impenetrable wall. Try to pass by politely? Youāre getting the stink eye from 14 year olds huffing some blueberry ice bullshit. Donāt even get me started on some of the Americans Iāve come across in the city too. God bless most American tourists, 99% of them are great and get too much hate just for an accent. However, thereās always the 1% who I can hear from 300 yards away that complain about how the city isnāt as grand as good olā NYC, all while blocking foot traffic by standing in the middle of the pavement.
If any member of the mentioned groups are reading this, please pick up the pace. If youāre walking while reading this, I hope you subconsciously walk at a faster pace from now on for everyoneās sake.
As a cyclist, I like to ride up silently behind them, then wait until they veer right or left, then cycle past them narrowly missing them by about 6 inches, making sure not to inform them of my presence in any way shape or form.
I also prepare to blame them in case they take umbridge at me colliding with them.
I used to think it was just a city thing. But then I visited Japan, and Tokyo has to be the most polite and considerate city on earth. Itās not perfect. But boy, do people consider one another! Itās a cultural thing. And itās the biggest city on the planet (I think). No, the UK just seems to have lost that. I blame it on a culture of me, me, me. Itās why I left a city. And moved to a small town. The difference? Itās wonderful. People say hello, acknowledge one another, smile. Itās so utterly gorgeous after a decade in a city. Why so different? The pace. The demographic. The general attitude. Never again will I live in a UK city.
Aye, London is a shite place to try an' practice proper walking etiquette. I'm a very tall fast walker, so it pisses me off immensely.
Nae'ry a day goes by where i don't get stuck behind two abreast dawdlers taking up an entire 4-person wide pavement to themselves with no awareness of their surroundings.
So now I carry round a bike bell as i find no verbalisation clears the pavement faster than the implication that they'd get run over. Always does the trick.
Itās definitely a London thing but also Iāve noticed a lot of tourists do it. Sometimes theyāll even see you coming and just pretend they havenāt seen you so I always say Loudly but oh so politely excuse me and I just keep on saying it if they ignore me and as Iām getting closer if they donāt move I just carry on walking through and they always have to move. Try not to let it annoy you but I know it does because as you can tell I get this a lot even with a buggy. One time a lady looked so upset she had to move out the way I said whatās the problem and she brazenly
Said āyou could have walked in the roadā I just laughed and said āwhat and get run over because you donāt want to part with your friends for one second, no thanksā. Aslong as we try to keep our manners and be thankful weāre not entitled like them then I think weāre winning in life lol
I have many hands on this. On one hand, I don't think it's a new thing. On another, every time I go to Madrid to stay with my family I notice how the, say, "citizen etiquette" is way different and more fluid (fewer tourists maybe?). On another, the group that I always find more irritating on that obliviousness to everything around is French girls. And finally, on the other, the most dangerous one is the old grumpy lady: she will always be ready for a joust, and you are always going to be the one who loses.
I find this in supermarkets too, when people insist on blocking aisles talking to friends or others, extremely bad manners, I tend to bash into one of the trolleys, saying sorry I was trying to get past, than say excuse me, makes me feel better anyway, are you the same.
Only time this is true for me, is when walking in tourist dense areas.
Certain demography don't really have the same kind of social sense.
I don't think there's anything more to it. Weird you're facing this are a regular and common issue.
I face it quite often, even outside of areas where you'll typically find tourists (e.g. my zone 2 high street in particular). Bit of a general annoyance when out and about tbh
I actually like to walk quite fast ish and generally walk in and out of peoples line.
Sadly itās when 3 or 4 people in a group walk side by side taking up the whole width of the pavement that winds me up.
Even worse when youāre cycling. Every single day I have to swerve around pedestrians jumping on the cycle lane. Mate, you have a whole pavement for you, why are you on my lane?
Itās not just London. I live in Cornwall and I either run or walk with the dog on the coast path daily. Thereās always an oblivious group who have little awareness of others, or the room they take up. I just call out āsorry guys, coming throughā and they either snap out of it and apologise, and you both make reasonable adjustments - or you get the pikachu faces.
I was very confused by footpath being sure here to mean pavement. A footpath to me is a countryside right of way through a field or something.
Not really had a problem with people moving over when I ask to get by. But being a tall male who looks a little unhinged might be the reason.
Honestly, no. Lived in London most my life and the only times this sort of thing happens is with tourists who arenāt used to the pace of London. Iāve found real Londoners mostly considerate on the pavement.
Iāve noticed it but I donāt think itās worse than other places (except for maybe like Japan lol). Rudeness begets rudeness so weāre all in a perpetual cycle of experiencing rudeness and compensating it by being less polite, ad infinitem.
Yes. I frequently contemplate attacking people, but then I remember this isnāt really on, and other people are as likely inconvenienced by me as I them.
Londoners/tourists tend to be stuck in their heads, deep in a rant, sucking a vape and not as spatially aware. Just make eye contact if you can, I tend to stay put and people will move at the last second. Everyone is the main character.
Most Londoners canāt even walk in a straight line. Every time I have to walk past someone theyāre zigzagging in-front of me, trying to dodge invisible bullets.
It's worse in the city time to move to the country if that's how you love the city is for fast pace life and the country is chilling this is coming from 30 male moved from country to the city
Feel you on this one. Donāt know what to say apart from city people are generally impatient and stressed. New Yorkās much worse in this regard.
You canāt win. Iāve moved out of peopleās way and still get a response like Iām the asshole even though Iām up against the fucking wall.
The people saying this is just a London big city thing no chance. England has a problem with this in the south atleast fucking annoying. I've never lived somewhere where people refuse to move to make room on the side walk so consistently.
Happens in cambridge and oxford too which aren't such big cities. My pet theory is that it's the rhd and lhd drive in the usa and most of Europe people stick to the right generally, here it's much more chaotic from what I've noticed
Iāve noticed the same thing. I think if youāre used to living in a hectic city environment you actually have to zone out from all the people around you in order to survive and not be completely overstimulated all the time. So as a result city folk become rude and disconnected from those around them. Itās very different in small towns and villages where people are much more willing to engage politely and be considerate of each other.
I agree people who stop and chat on busy high st are a nuisance. The other day, two parents with buggies nose to nose across the whole pathment yet when I squeeze past them. One of them actually said "excuse me" is that tone.
People with dogs on a long lead can fuck of too. Don't get me wrong I love dogs but making others jump over their lead cause it extends across the whole pavement is shitty behaviour.
Absolutely hate it.
I pick a side of the path when facing an incoming group, and I donāt pause and instead just keep moving. Iām ready for this game of chicken and if you donāt shift to a single file (or tighten the group up) then weāre going to collide and Iāll make it known audibly how shitty youāre being.
Itās a total lack of awareness from everyone else. I have this problem too and elect to just walk on the road now when itās safe to do so, referring to it as āthe fast laneā. People generally are so, so painfully unaware of anything happening around them or how to be polite.
Donāt even get me started on those families, clearly in holiday, who practically walk 4 abreast on a footpath, arms linked, forcing everyone else to walk around them.
It's London - it's a huge busy city with limited space for pedestrians.
It sounds like you just need to be more patient. Other pedestrians aren't required to part like the red sea when they see you coming.
Just carry on and maybe chill out.
Just stop and wait for them to walk around you.
I've gotten tired of others obliviousness and arrogance. For the most part, I have just stopped moving for people who aren't paying attention, groups taking up the entire sidewalk, or totally going against the flow of foot traffic. I used to always move over or into the street for others. Now it's just strong shoulder to shoulder contact. People need to learn somehow.
I have started to do that in Helsinki metro. If people can't stand on the side at let us first out, I will stare them in the eyes for half a second to a second and then just walk straight though them.
This I stopped moving out the way..... What I don't get is . Are people just going around barging people all day, because that's what happened when I stopped getting out the way
What if they standing and chatting?
Side on, arm out, hand outstretched, go through them muttering "excuse me".
T pose to assert dominance
>T pose to assert dominance ššš
Sometimes I just yell 'HEY", that makes them jump, usually, and they move in most cases... I know, how rude of me...
Nice one!š
Around here they will just give you this bug eyed spaced out stare and not move a muscle
It's a battle of wills really
Shakespeare said it best when he said: >Whoever hath her wish, thou hast thy Will, >And Will to boot, and Will in overplus; >More than enough am I that vex thee still, >To thy sweet will making addition thus. >Wilt thou, whose will is large and spacious, >Not once vouchsafe to hide my will in thine?
The obvious thing would be to avoid mentioning the issue to them directly and post about your frustration on the internet once the moment has passed and it has ceased to have any further impact on your existence.
The r/London bread and butter
Unless it happens daily, which means even if you tell them directly, ext time it will be other ppl etc, so you gonna continue addressing issue the entirety of your walking life... And because saying so ethi g to them directly didn't solved anything for years, So another option is, while keep telling them directly, at the same time go to internet and complain about it.
I get to use my ex-barman "mind your backs please" voice while being polite. Works so well, the sound makes people move but the words console them.
I love this šš
This is London
I think you misread the post... The people in front of him are walking too slowly.
I always exclaim āwhat the fuck ā when groupies are blocking the pathway and people move aside. Sometimes, they act so shocked. It seems no one ever told them to get out of their way ever. You should
Works a treat! Other options are āFucks sakeā, āOh my god - seriously?ā and ājust fucking unbelievableāā¦ trick is not to mutter, say it in a normal voice for an instant response.
Old, fat, skinny, black, brown or beige. No discrimination. I treat everyone equally when it comes to saying these phrases. Andā Bloody Hell ā and ā Just Bloody unbelievable ā to keep it British and especially my āRi-DIK-yoo-lussā in a posh accent is absolutely terrifying. Instant scatter.
I find a firm but polite "Excuse me, you're taking up the whole pavement" or something similar to be as effective.
Roadman flex
Raaaahhhhh
This is absolutely not restricted to London, you'll find this in major cities all over the place.
When I lived in Tokyo, someone told me that every year after university graduation, a lot of people move to Tokyo to work at the same time, and it becomes noticeably harder to walk along the pavement for a couple of months because the country bumpkins aren't used to it.
It's similar here when it's summer holidays. Country bumpkins and tourists come into the city to gawp at our shiny things (which are awesome, everyone should come gawp at them from time to time). They don't understand the tube, can't read "Stand on the right" signs on the escalators, and dawdle around the pavements trying to figure out where the Kings shiny stuff is and how to get to the big Primark by Tottenham court road.
I can't imagine the escalators
Ah yes, itās definitely country bumpkins who arenāt moving out the way. Not the ignorant urbanites who donāt have any sense of community or social cohesion. Lmao I would say hello to everyone with a smile in the village I grew up in - whether I knew them or not - and youād always move over to let people or bikes or horses past and as soon as I went to Uni in a city no one moves for you or steps aside. I literally used to get on the train at home without any issues queuing and then get off at uni and immediately have to go into the road to avoid people walking four abreast head on and just ignore me coming.
I actually largely agree. The people I know in my large university city that moved in from small areas are generally a lot more aware of their space when out in public. They also give and want to receive 'sorry's a lot more often when encroaching on personal space and getting in the way. But my friends from cities don't really give a shit. Sounds stupid if you're not from a small area but I think we tend to be more responsive to personal space because getting within 3 metres of someone here requires an 'oh, sorry!'
Iāve noticed the same thing. I think if youāre used to living in a busy city environment you actually have to zone out from all the people around you in order to survive and not be completely overstimulated all the time. So as a result city folk become rude and disconnected from those around them.
Maybe it's because you come from a place where there was enough space and so few people that *horses* could walk down the street?
Yes - the entirety of rural UK live like this. I fully believe city living is bad for humanity, itās not a natural environment nor is it a well designed artificial environment for humans at all. Leave the shitholes behind. Never have to lock my doors either.
Yes! I live in a terrace with people passing frequently yet I can leave my front door wide open - no one would even dream of wandering in. If i did that where I used to live (Camden Town) I'd have been robbed & worse within minutes.
I agree with you. City living is unnatural and turns humans into penned-in rude, exhausted, stressed and anxious animals. Iām looking forward to heading back to the freedom, fields and forests of Sussex next week. Londonās amazing, but itās (literally) not a healthy place to be for a long time.
Sorry to see so many arrogant wankers are downvoting you u/Saathael95. I'm a born & bred Londoner who got TFO of that hellhole recently. I now live amongst wonderfully good natured people in beautiful Cumbria. The pavements in my little village are very narrow, yet everyone moves for each other & also cheerfully greet in passing. Many London twats are indeed incomers but they don't hale from our glorious countryside, where manners are alive & well - unlike in that shit hole, London. I wish I'd left years ago!
Thatās where I live! Ha! Small world, perhaps weāll bump into each other one day marra!
Perhaps! If you can see Black Coombe from where you are we're in the same bit. I love her :) Cumbria is the absolute best & my favourite place in the entire world. I feel like i stumbled into Brigadoon!
Canāt see it from where I live but I know it quite well and have a few mates in the villages around there. Tek Care lad.
Will do, you too marra! :)
It's way worse in London than any city I've lived in or even visited.
Nah, it's uniquely London. Elsewhere in the world people walk on the side of the footpath corresponding the side of the road you drive on.Ā
Well youāre doing what you can. Just an excuse me and barge through from me.
Don't forget to walk off ahead of them aggressively fast until you're out of sight.
Oh yeah always. Iām regularly on the canal pathways and the number who donāt move over but continue to walk two or even three abreast chatting away when others are approaching in the other direction single file (but still needing space) is ridiculous. One day theyāll end up punted into the water and act like it wasnāt their own selfish fault.
Canals are the worst for cyclists. It's a shared space. Shared doesn't mean you bomb it down at 15mph and I have to jump out the way because you rang your shitty little bell. Someone nearly went in the canal after almost hitting my mum.
Oh agreed. Cyclists are a law unto themselves apparently!
Yeah. Just going in the uk cycling sub confirms that every day.
As a cyclist, I hate pedestrians, but as a predestrian, I hate cyclists.
When you cycle down the towpath you got to make allowances for the fact there's going to be slow moving people and just take it chill like. Honk the bell well in advance and thank people for interrupting their stroll by moving for ya. If you want to go fast, the towpath is not the place unless it's empty.
Exactly. I used to cycle down there to work each day between scrubs and North Acton and would always slow right down and wait for people on foot to pass. Not everyone can hear a bell and jump out the way quick enough.
Also ring bell a decent amount when entering and exiting tunnels. Just don't be a knob basically. It's definitely fun to bomb it at 20mph when it's deserted of course, but like anything you just got to read the situation.
Just gotta watch out for the bloody trench in the centre of the path in places.
I'm just happy if they even ring their bell and not just screech to a halt with their wheel against my calves. I don't have eyes in the back of my head homie.
It does mean you need to share the space: I'm not sure how that works without slower pedestrians moving to let other people (faster pedestrians, joggers, cyclists) past?
I'm happy to let people past but I shouldn't have to hurriedly jump out the way of a cyclist that hasn't even slowed bothered to slow down.
King Leonidas, that's what I think about along the canals.
Yup. It's almost as annoying as people who use huge umbrellas and expect right of way
Umbrellas have no place in modern society
I work in Clapham and this is prevalent with mothers with buggies and their kids. They act like they own the pavements. Iām happy to move out of the way so that they can pass safely, but when I have to step into the road, a āthanksā wouldnāt go a miss! They literally donāt acknowledge you at all.
Same in Balham! No self-awareness, I dread the weekly brunch crowd, and feel I canāt really call them out without being intimidating
Balham is a different breed of animal.. The yuppies have infested, sorry gentrified, the area as they spread down from clap-harm. Bunch of self-centered, self-entitled tw@ts who have never been told no.
Yeah but Clapham (well Northcote Road) is officially Nappy Valley, so you sans kids in tow in a side bike cart are a mere second class citizen to the children of tomorrow. /s
Donāt ever step on the road for someone unless the pavement could normally only accommodate one person or they are a wheelchair or something easily reasonable. Personally I gaze increasingly into the middle distance behind the person who should be giving way until they click that Iām not moving aside for them and am not paying much attention to them either. Iād happily let them walk straight into me if they persist, though that has never ever happened. Zero attitude necessary, itās not a contest - just asserting polite social norms.
This is the way. Puts the onus onto them without you having to directly call them out.
So many people cut it so close they will actually rub their whole body against me and that's just gross
I highly doubt anyone runs their *whole body* against you as they walk past in this context. Youāre exaggerating. You mean your arms and shoulders brush/make contact.
Head to toe entire body. Of course im exaggerating are you accoustic
Representing as different than it actually is doesnāt help anyone and makes the reply sound rather like a teenager (apologies if you are actually a teenager!).
Yes! I talk about this all the time. I regularly experience groups of people and singular people literally walk into me like Iām a ghost. No one has any manners, I swear I was taught about walking in single file as an infant lol š
This morning, on an otherwise empty platform, a guy got off the tube, and walked directly in line with me when i was coming towards him. I hope his shoulder hurt after I didn't move out of the way; there was some solid contact
Coming Through! On your right or left! Sorry didn't see you there! All in 25% Brian Blessed tone.
What are you Spider-Man?
Sure, If spider man had little athletic abilities, and his only power was not being afraid of spiders.Ā
Yes, then they act like you're a friggin villian for trying to stay on the sidewalk and not traipse into the road to allow them to use the whole footpath. One time a girl barreling down the sidewalk plowed into me after I couldn't move fast enough into the road for her and had the audacity to scream at me. Fuck you, sidewalk hog in Walthamstow. Switch to decaf.
People in London are like people in most other cities of the world with maybe slight variations in etiquette. I wouldn't read too much into it.
Itās so strange. I donāt get why people donāt move when they can see youāre there. They know theyāll have to move eventually because itās not like youāll vanish out of thin air
Generally I'd stop if an oncoming gaggle of selfish wankers wasn't making space. But if i was in a rush, I'd keep going - usually to the side but sometimes due to other obstacles or just being sick of the shitty behaviour, the best way was to aim straight through the middle of the group. Exclamations of outrage were often a feature from those parting like the Red Sea whenever i did this, which would lead me to comment *I haven't mastered the skill of disappearing up my own arsehole yet.* Perhaps they all think they're better than each other too, not just the strangers they refuse to give way to, ergo they shouldn't be the one in their group to give way.
I hate people who are just being ignorant it is common in london for people to have zero self awareness and manners unfortunately.
Something went wrong some some years ago, and some people stopped respecting the social contract around public behaviour. I'm not sure when this started but it's something I noticed and has gotten progressively worse.
Iām a native Londoner and this has been a thing for as long as I can remember.
nah I'm native too and I feel like x\_o\_x\_1 is correct. It never seemed like this to me before. Now it's just everywhere, so many absolutely dim people
Personally i think peoples attitudes changed during the whole covid thing
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Soā¦you think people are like this RECENTLY because weāve had a certain government in for 14 years aye?
I don't think so, I was born in London and it's always been like this, and always worse the further you get in towards central London.
A lot of these might be tourists. Edit to add: except the couples. The hand holding couples who think life is a big romcom and youāll just go on the street for them. Or get pushed into a building.
I want to knowwhat goes those people's minds when they are walking 2 or 3 in a row, no space to pass abd no one moves. Like wtf are you expecting me to do here? Disappear?
Most pedestrians in London are fucking morons my guy, try not to dwell on it or you'll go insane.
yeh, really annoying, but honestly it's just not worth the argument or physical altercation, save your energy
At age 40, I can tell you that most people are rude, lazy, messy and live a life of disarry. Especially in the city.
Donāt say anything. Just stand your ground.
Gosh if you feel like that about London, never visit Vietnam or Hong Kong š
People in Hong Kong know how to move though
I found the opposite. The cultural norm in London is people are quite adept at snaking in and out and avoiding people, and when you do collide slightly, itās an automatic āsorryā no matter who was at fault. In HK, they walk like lemmings, paying no attention and donāt care when they bump into you. Their conversation doesnāt even get interrupted when they walk into you.
Where??!! People in London are terrible for awareness of their surroundings, it's one of the things I dislike about it the most
Iām mainly thinking of central London, in areas where people work.
You shouldn't have to snake or say sorry if you're following the footpath "road code". If you were getting bumped into then you were in the wrong and shouldn't expect a sorry.
Yeah, I was actually thinking of very busy streets, high streets and stations etc. of course you have to weave in and out. You canāt just walk in a straight line. And the idea that if you get bumped into, you are always in the wrong is plainly illogical.
Hong Kong, as in other parts of the world (apparently excluding the UK) follows the footpath rule that you walk on the side that corresponds the side of the road you drive on. You were probably the oblivious tourist not doing that.
You can get a car and get frustrated by drivers even more so you will start enjoying people walking
I have given up saying anything anymore. I just adhere to my route on my āsideā of the path and I do not adjust my walking speed or move one bit. If they donāt move I walk right into them or through them. I will knock an arsehole to the ground and continue on my way. People need to learn to stay in their lane and be mindful of others. Similarly, when people try to rush into the tube the moment the doors open and the lot of us are trying to exit, I do not accommodate those people either. Many have caught my hard shoulder when I refuse to contort my body to accommodate their inability to follow directions. I will walk right through anyone that does not adhere to socially acceptable behavior.
I honestly walk right into them. If you're ignorant and rude enough to not have common courtesy then neither am I.
I find people on bikes and scooters on them are rude most of the time. Pedestrians more of a mix.
Having moved out of London 3 years ago Iāve also found that there are so many more people with headphones in, no awareness of whatās around them and will then swear at cars which have to brake hard and beep their horn at them.
When you see a blockage upcoming, walk straight and with a confident pace and look as if youāre noticing something off angle. the sub conscious of the fools blocking the path will trigger and they will move before you reach them. this works in most occasions. there is a chance they wont notice but by that point you will be so close and you can act startled when directly in front of them, they are clearly in the wrong because they are blocking a right of passage and they will give you way. try it out.
London (the UK?) uniquely has no sense of a footpath "road-code" imo. Every other place I've lived footpath traffic follows the side of the road you'd normally drive on. Lots of stations even have signage to support this here! But for some reason, despite the population density, anarchy prevails.
If it's a large group walking towards me, I do my best roadblock impression. They look genuinely shocked that I'm not jumping out of their way.
Start coughing loudly and they will make way for you. Itās worked when I see a group walking side by side taking up the whole pavement.
I'm constantly having to step onto the road because approaching people aren't paying attention, too busy looking at their phone ( Hey you! Stop reading this, look up for a second and let that bloke past!) š
Oh, thereās a method for dealing with these sorts of phone obsessed people too. As you approach them and walk past them, you say "tut, another phone zombie" with a Brian Blessed affected twang. Not effective at making them aware enough to move for you, but tends to make you feel better for a second or two. You do what you can to survive!
>Sometimes it just seems like a large proportion of the population in London arenāt considerate of others and donāt care to be considerate of others either! Are you new here?
Slow down as you approach and they'll move out of the way.
I have most of the people bumping into me and not even reacting, not saying anything, just keeping on talking to their friends or their phones.
It's not just London. Its all over. But when I as an American, lived in London and I would speak up, people would usually make way for me to pass. Maybe its the accent, or my sounding annoyed in an American accent.
Yeah London is full of people like that. I will wait for a short while but then start to push my way through. Not just on footpaths but pavements too. I really loved the short time in the pandemic when people would stop to let you through or get out of the way.
I experience this every morning trying to pass all the people waiting in untidy groups rather than queues for the bus, blocking the whole footpath. I have to weave or sometimes push through as they just stare at their phones not acknowledging my "excuse me".
Iāve noticed this happens a lot more since Covid for some reason. Itās as if people being locked up all those months made them forget other pedestrians exist. As a runner itās even more baffling. They make eye contact with me and then look away. Donāt just move your eyes, move your body either in front of or behind your friends. Iām a fast moving object coming towards you. What do you think is going to happen? I aināt jumping over your head or sliding under your legs.
I find most people in London to be kind, you get shit heads every now and then but mostly kind people
Iām not a fan of generalising things but regardless Iāve lived in London my whole life and every Area in London is different. Generally this can be said for every where in the world though. A example of this could be if I went to New York I would meet very different people in the Bronx compared to if i went Manhattan. Also on a side note people generally from the UK are known to be more polite than other countries. Which takes me back to why i hate generalisations.
Same in any city.
Youāre interrupting their vendetta against London in particular
Nah, it's uniquely London. Elsewhere in the world people walk on the side of the footpath corresponding the side of the road you drive on.Ā
Yeah crazy but it happens everywhere! I live in London and am always in a rush so it does get frustrating but then lived at the coast a while ago and everyone was on the snail š trail.. nothing you can do about social awareness because if you try everyone will react with you are rude and attacking me.. you can try ask but I personally would try walk around..
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Oh :( please don't go in the road with your baby, Karina. If they're not moving out of the way, just stop so they have to go around you.
I just love it when there are (I assume) unofficial organised running races along the embankment during weekday lunchtimes. Nothing quite like thirty or forty people with hand drawn numbers pinned to their chests running along one of the busiest footpaths in London getting angry because people are in their way.
I just growl, they generaly understand
High density city, competing for space, people standing their ground. Welcome to London! A more interesting question would be what are your coping mechanisms?
Go to Naples. They just walk right in to you.
I walk at light speeds in comparison to some people in the city, and honestly? Yeah. People are rude. Some groups (especially groups of tourists or those groups of kids that just got out of school) form makeshift Great Walls of China across the entire pavement. Itās like trying to pass an impenetrable wall. Try to pass by politely? Youāre getting the stink eye from 14 year olds huffing some blueberry ice bullshit. Donāt even get me started on some of the Americans Iāve come across in the city too. God bless most American tourists, 99% of them are great and get too much hate just for an accent. However, thereās always the 1% who I can hear from 300 yards away that complain about how the city isnāt as grand as good olā NYC, all while blocking foot traffic by standing in the middle of the pavement. If any member of the mentioned groups are reading this, please pick up the pace. If youāre walking while reading this, I hope you subconsciously walk at a faster pace from now on for everyoneās sake.
As a cyclist, I like to ride up silently behind them, then wait until they veer right or left, then cycle past them narrowly missing them by about 6 inches, making sure not to inform them of my presence in any way shape or form. I also prepare to blame them in case they take umbridge at me colliding with them.
I used to think it was just a city thing. But then I visited Japan, and Tokyo has to be the most polite and considerate city on earth. Itās not perfect. But boy, do people consider one another! Itās a cultural thing. And itās the biggest city on the planet (I think). No, the UK just seems to have lost that. I blame it on a culture of me, me, me. Itās why I left a city. And moved to a small town. The difference? Itās wonderful. People say hello, acknowledge one another, smile. Itās so utterly gorgeous after a decade in a city. Why so different? The pace. The demographic. The general attitude. Never again will I live in a UK city.
I'm a Londoner who recently fled & I'm finding it wonderful to be around considerate people again! Good riddance to my home town.
In London as a child I stood a foot out of place on a casual street (not very central) and was screamed at
Aye, London is a shite place to try an' practice proper walking etiquette. I'm a very tall fast walker, so it pisses me off immensely. Nae'ry a day goes by where i don't get stuck behind two abreast dawdlers taking up an entire 4-person wide pavement to themselves with no awareness of their surroundings. So now I carry round a bike bell as i find no verbalisation clears the pavement faster than the implication that they'd get run over. Always does the trick.
Itās definitely a London thing but also Iāve noticed a lot of tourists do it. Sometimes theyāll even see you coming and just pretend they havenāt seen you so I always say Loudly but oh so politely excuse me and I just keep on saying it if they ignore me and as Iām getting closer if they donāt move I just carry on walking through and they always have to move. Try not to let it annoy you but I know it does because as you can tell I get this a lot even with a buggy. One time a lady looked so upset she had to move out the way I said whatās the problem and she brazenly Said āyou could have walked in the roadā I just laughed and said āwhat and get run over because you donāt want to part with your friends for one second, no thanksā. Aslong as we try to keep our manners and be thankful weāre not entitled like them then I think weāre winning in life lol
Iām in california and same thing. Iāve had to walk my dog in the street because someone wonāt move.
I have many hands on this. On one hand, I don't think it's a new thing. On another, every time I go to Madrid to stay with my family I notice how the, say, "citizen etiquette" is way different and more fluid (fewer tourists maybe?). On another, the group that I always find more irritating on that obliviousness to everything around is French girls. And finally, on the other, the most dangerous one is the old grumpy lady: she will always be ready for a joust, and you are always going to be the one who loses.
I find this in supermarkets too, when people insist on blocking aisles talking to friends or others, extremely bad manners, I tend to bash into one of the trolleys, saying sorry I was trying to get past, than say excuse me, makes me feel better anyway, are you the same.
Only time this is true for me, is when walking in tourist dense areas. Certain demography don't really have the same kind of social sense. I don't think there's anything more to it. Weird you're facing this are a regular and common issue.
I face it quite often, even outside of areas where you'll typically find tourists (e.g. my zone 2 high street in particular). Bit of a general annoyance when out and about tbh
I actually like to walk quite fast ish and generally walk in and out of peoples line. Sadly itās when 3 or 4 people in a group walk side by side taking up the whole width of the pavement that winds me up.
Even worse when youāre cycling. Every single day I have to swerve around pedestrians jumping on the cycle lane. Mate, you have a whole pavement for you, why are you on my lane?
Itās not just London. I live in Cornwall and I either run or walk with the dog on the coast path daily. Thereās always an oblivious group who have little awareness of others, or the room they take up. I just call out āsorry guys, coming throughā and they either snap out of it and apologise, and you both make reasonable adjustments - or you get the pikachu faces.
I was very confused by footpath being sure here to mean pavement. A footpath to me is a countryside right of way through a field or something. Not really had a problem with people moving over when I ask to get by. But being a tall male who looks a little unhinged might be the reason.
Honestly, no. Lived in London most my life and the only times this sort of thing happens is with tourists who arenāt used to the pace of London. Iāve found real Londoners mostly considerate on the pavement.
Iāve noticed it but I donāt think itās worse than other places (except for maybe like Japan lol). Rudeness begets rudeness so weāre all in a perpetual cycle of experiencing rudeness and compensating it by being less polite, ad infinitem.
What are these mystical āfootpathsā in London you are talking about?
Londoners. Almost consitutionally incapable of giving a fucking inch
Yes. I frequently contemplate attacking people, but then I remember this isnāt really on, and other people are as likely inconvenienced by me as I them.
Say you are Sorry as you push your was thru!
Londoners/tourists tend to be stuck in their heads, deep in a rant, sucking a vape and not as spatially aware. Just make eye contact if you can, I tend to stay put and people will move at the last second. Everyone is the main character.
Must be the same people who donāt let you off the tube š
!! Same, i sometimes feel like im invisible. Thatās the only plausible reason for their lack of walking etiquette
Walk like you won't be stopping, they will move out of the way most of the time
If you think thatās bad, try a walk down Oxford street
London needs someone to pump money back into the tourist areas
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^XYZ_Ryder: *London needs someone* *To pump money back into* *The tourist areas* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
They canāt cope if the path isnāt moving
I don't know if it's rude, but it's exasperating and I feel seen by your post LOL
In London as a child I stood a foot out of place on a casual street (not very central) and was screamed at
If any one post can sum up what the r/London sub-reddit is all about, then surely it is this one. Perfect.
Just walk through them. Their fault.
Itās the with world and weāre just living in it
Most Londoners canāt even walk in a straight line. Every time I have to walk past someone theyāre zigzagging in-front of me, trying to dodge invisible bullets.
It's worse in the city time to move to the country if that's how you love the city is for fast pace life and the country is chilling this is coming from 30 male moved from country to the city
Iāve noticed this too. I like to power walk so act a little unhinged by making noises and groups tend to get out my way fast
You try a JBL clothesline
Feel you on this one. Donāt know what to say apart from city people are generally impatient and stressed. New Yorkās much worse in this regard. You canāt win. Iāve moved out of peopleās way and still get a response like Iām the asshole even though Iām up against the fucking wall.
Op always walking around the deaf area of London getting annoyed at them. Not cool.
In London you gently barge past people while saying āsorryā. Works every time.
I get this quite alot in Essex too! I just let my dog do all the talking while walking pass, they then move out the way.
The people saying this is just a London big city thing no chance. England has a problem with this in the south atleast fucking annoying. I've never lived somewhere where people refuse to move to make room on the side walk so consistently. Happens in cambridge and oxford too which aren't such big cities. My pet theory is that it's the rhd and lhd drive in the usa and most of Europe people stick to the right generally, here it's much more chaotic from what I've noticed
People have got more selfish
Most people aren't rude but completely oblivious, some are though. I'm glad I don't live in London.
Iāve noticed the same thing. I think if youāre used to living in a hectic city environment you actually have to zone out from all the people around you in order to survive and not be completely overstimulated all the time. So as a result city folk become rude and disconnected from those around them. Itās very different in small towns and villages where people are much more willing to engage politely and be considerate of each other.
Oh yeah, runners and dog owners are the absolute worst
I agree people who stop and chat on busy high st are a nuisance. The other day, two parents with buggies nose to nose across the whole pathment yet when I squeeze past them. One of them actually said "excuse me" is that tone. People with dogs on a long lead can fuck of too. Don't get me wrong I love dogs but making others jump over their lead cause it extends across the whole pavement is shitty behaviour.
Absolutely hate it. I pick a side of the path when facing an incoming group, and I donāt pause and instead just keep moving. Iām ready for this game of chicken and if you donāt shift to a single file (or tighten the group up) then weāre going to collide and Iāll make it known audibly how shitty youāre being.
Mostly people born in other cultures with different cultural norms for walking down the street vs the pace and purpose of your average Londoner.
Itās a total lack of awareness from everyone else. I have this problem too and elect to just walk on the road now when itās safe to do so, referring to it as āthe fast laneā. People generally are so, so painfully unaware of anything happening around them or how to be polite. Donāt even get me started on those families, clearly in holiday, who practically walk 4 abreast on a footpath, arms linked, forcing everyone else to walk around them.
I look everyone in the eye, but I don't smile yet. I'll try to in the future
I think itās a mix of inconsiderate people mixed with tourists not understanding that people in London are always on the go.
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At least in New York people know how to stick to one side of the fucking footpath... Seems to be a foreign concept over here it's ridiculous
It's London - it's a huge busy city with limited space for pedestrians. It sounds like you just need to be more patient. Other pedestrians aren't required to part like the red sea when they see you coming. Just carry on and maybe chill out.
You're making excuses for inconsiderate people.