Which side of the sidewalk to you walk on?

I’m with you on the walking lanes. Same as road rules, non-verbally signal direction and lane changes—my wife has no concept of these things. When we go to the mall, I feel like a salmon on a spawn mission weaving between on coming pedestrians and randomly looking to make way between obstacles.

They have designating walking lanes in Japan!

They ARE more advanced. Actually, there’s just too damn many of them (especially in Tokyo!).

I stay to the right but never insist on it.

Live in a small town and avoid all malls…It becomes a non-issue except with the larger dogs. They are always alpha around here.

Just like the (American) roads…walk to the right, pass on the left. I distinctly remember being taught this in childhood, and have passed it on to my kids, but I don’t think this is taught anymore.

I have two techniques that I use:

If you see someone walking towards you and they somehow think that they can just walk THROUGH YOU like you are made out of AIR, please do the following:

1. When he/she/they get to you, just STOP. Make them walk around you, then continue walking, nothing feels better than seeing someone do the awkward sidestep/ I have never walked before or encountered an obstacle in my life routine. Some people just go NUTS!

2. IGNORE THEM, keep your head down, or pretend like you are looking SOMEWHERE ELSE, and just walk straight FOR them (It is very important NOT to make any eye contact, or look in their general direction). What ends up happening is that the person changes his/her path due to fear of getting injured/ spilling coffee etc.

just make sure the person you are doing it to has not read this post because a black hole will open
(LHC baby!)

I’m usually drunk. So a little on the left and a little on the right and a little holding onto stationary objects.

I walk on the right side of the side of the road I need to be on. So if my destination is on the left side of the street, I would walk on the right side of the left sidewalk. If it is on the right of the street, I walk the right side of the right sidewalk. Like driving, but on the sidewalk.

I tend to default to the right side, but not religiously. I read ages ago a body language trick that works amazingly well in situations where you’re meeting oncoming pedestrians: if you subtly point your right hand (with the index finger extended a bit) to the ground just ahead of you and toward the side you intend to pass on (as if it’s pointing to the path your feet are about to take), the oncoming person will subconsciously read that signal and adjust. The gesture can be very inconspicuous and still work.

In my old neighborhood I walked on the side with the least visible crackheads.

OK, I spend too much time dragging my luggage through airport terminals, which does not improve my mood, but I really get ticked at the “wrong way” travelers. You are moving down the terminal, the “traffic” is moving along nicely, people staying to their right both ways, then along comes a single person bucking the flow, heading into incoming traffic with their roll-on trailing behind, expecting every one else to move out of their way. What is the deal! I guess this is devolving into a rant…

passing on the right

I always was taught that it was “Be polite, stay to your right and generally everyone follows it, but if someone is coming at me in my “space”, I don’t budge. Sorry, been that way for years, so why should I be inconvenienced for some diva and yes, it’s usually the woman who think they own the sidewalk. BTW, I’m female…..