Gransnet forums

AIBU

Why won't people MOVE out of other people's way?

(121 Posts)
Beswitched Mon 30-Mar-20 12:50:44

I've heard of so many people who have given up going out for their daily walk here in Ireland because they spend the entire time hopping off the pavement and out onto the road to get out of the way of people who seem to want to hog the entire pavement.
Family groups are the worst. It never seems to occur to them to bunch up or go in single file when they meet on comers. They just barge on and expect everyone to work around them.
Surely people should be aware of others and stop giving people a choice of brushing up against them, or stepping out into the road.

I know the chances of catching covid 19 like this are small, but at the moment advice is to observe the 2 mtr rule and people are not comfortable with others coming too close.

Beswitched Tue 31-Mar-20 12:49:53

I find the small children flying down the pavement ahead of their parents and around corners on bikes and scooters a problem as well.
I realise it's not easy for parents of small kids but this is inadvisable on a number of levels.

Silverhippy Tue 31-Mar-20 12:50:33

I am registered blind and walk around with a long white stick, which I have now taken to swinging round in great arcs to ensure people do not encroach on my social distance personal space. I've hit a couple of people who have encroached into my space and also prodded a woman walking directly at me and expecting me to move out of her way. She swore at me and called me a "Blind brass stud!" or something like that Lol!

BoBo53 Tue 31-Mar-20 12:58:10

Joggers are the worst so intent on getting their exercise while exhaling heavily they make no effort to move! Stay safe and well everyone. Xxx

polnan Tue 31-Mar-20 12:59:09

Essential buying... lol yes, this thread is moving sideways

coke and crisps someone mentioned..
alcohol according to the powers that be.. are essential, ie off licences.

for me.. plants and seeds

earnshaw Tue 31-Mar-20 13:03:06

my sister in law and her ex who are on friendly terms but dont live in the same house, go for an hours walk together any day, surely they shouldnt be doing this

BelindaB Tue 31-Mar-20 13:08:39

I've had this problem in the past and have long lost any patience with it. A loud and pointed "Excuse me" works wonders as does moving the trolley out of the way and giving a fixed (and patently false) smile to the idiot pushing it. If in doubt - be firm!

annep1 Tue 31-Mar-20 13:21:04

They shouldn't Earnshaw. The folk next door and one after that are chatting, perhaps two inches apart. My BiL and his nephew still meet up. Are people stupid or what?
As for moving. Not only now, but I find I am always the one to move. Very occasionally I just refuse and we almost collide.

Jillybird Tue 31-Mar-20 13:26:58

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Penygirl Tue 31-Mar-20 13:43:09

I find it’s the couples walking a dog who don’t move over, just keep walking alongside each other. Everyone else has been great.

Paperbackwriter Tue 31-Mar-20 13:46:34

Oh lordy, would you listen to yourselves! Can everyone please stop moaning? Isn't this bad enough without the constant criticism? Dear lord, one on here is even judgemental about teens' perfectly normal food purchases! FFS!

CathyDavio Tue 31-Mar-20 13:58:59

Joggers oh everytime i go for my walk you can guarantee one comes running past you and they wont move. They dont care about keeping a distance and there breathing heavy when they pass you and spitting on floor, discusting.

crimpedhalo Tue 31-Mar-20 14:09:26

'Men striding down the middle of a path'
Just stop....stand still and start coughing
Works every time?

'People texting in supermarkets'
I can forgive this as some people/volunteers are grabbing shopping for other people or family.

Before Covid19....
People striding or in groups not giving way...
Generally people will walk or knock into a moving target.
BUT..if you stop and start rummaging in your handbag/pockets people will generally walk round you. Been doing this for years and it works 99% of the time. I can spot the joggers....I mean hoggers so I deliberately do this even in supermarkets.

GreenGran78 Tue 31-Mar-20 14:13:14

I find that cyclists are the worst. None of them seem to have a bell. They cycle right up behind me and, being slightly deaf, I don’t always hear them coming, even with my hearing aid on. Can’t they buy a bell, or even shout a warning? I always seem to step in the wrong direction, too, and almost had one of them in the canal the other day!

AlisonKF Tue 31-Mar-20 14:15:10

You must have noticed how small children do not have much sense of where they are in relation to anyone else and barge into people to the embarrassment of mothers. I think some people never grow out of this. A child is self centred as it has to be, to be noticed and cared for.

Vivian123 Tue 31-Mar-20 14:16:26

I liken this to PacMan. I walk in one direction and then have to reverse to avoid the 'Ghost' coming towards me. It never seems to be the other party that moves. It does make the walk longer, though, so I get more exercise.

HootyMcOwlface Tue 31-Mar-20 14:18:34

I hate this too. It always happens to me, and not just recently, I’m walking along on my own, then the other way comes a couple with a dog for example. Im fed up of hopping in the road or moving onto grass verges to let them pass, why can’t they fall into single file and pull their dog in? Next time I’m just going to stop where I am and hold my ground and let anyone, who does this in future, move around me.

It’s the same in town, it’s always me moving to avoid people coming in the opposite direction.

Daisyboots Tue 31-Mar-20 14:26:49

No idea about being out walking as have only been out to go to oncology appointments. But right from the beginning here only one person has been allowed to go into the supermarkets no couples or families. DH drove 18km to our nearest Lidl yesterday and the trolleys had just been sprayed with sanitizer. At 9.30 there were only about 6 other people shopping so no queue to get in and no problem keeping a safe distance inside. My daughter in England rang this morning for a chat. Both she and my grandson work for Tesco. He works getting the vans loaded ready to take home deliveries. After she had dropped him off she joined the queue so she could get her weekly shop. She said there was a guy in bis 70s really going on that this was all a fuss about nothing and he was sure nobody there knew anyone who had the virus etc etc. She said that in general in the shop it was mostly older people who were complaining about the restrictions in place to make it safer for everyone. A younger male friend was talking to me on Messenger the other evening and said he had gone to the local supermarket to do the family shopping and he came across a woman standing where he needed to get something. She was picking up boxes of ready curry meals reading everything on the package before picking up another box and doing the same. She picked up 5 boxes and put each one back totally ignoring his excuse mes from 2metres away. Some people are so selfish. If she had the virus that's 5 people she coud have infected.

Pikachu Tue 31-Mar-20 14:49:35

Just been out for a hobble up the hill and down. Don’t know if it was the walking stick but nearly everyone stepped sideways to make room, even though the pavements around here are 2-3 metres wide.

The one exception was a family with two children.

sharon59 Tue 31-Mar-20 14:58:48

There are an awful lot of people living on 'planet me'

prestbury Tue 31-Mar-20 15:14:46

I ahve no problem with joggers when out walking who always go out of their way to avoid me although it may have something to do with the death stare from my 120lb Rottie.

SirChenjin Tue 31-Mar-20 16:40:24

I’ve just stopped work for a 10 minute break and looked out of the upstairs window at the people using the woodland path behind our house. In less than a minute I saw three separate people and not one of them was 2m away from the other. I spend my working day in the NHS trying to get this message across - why do so many people still ignore it? confused

ValerieF Tue 31-Mar-20 16:41:53

I think I must live in a fabulous area because everyone seems to be adhering to the rules and there is plenty of food in local shops. People giving everyone space. Yes, sometimes I might have to step into the road, but other times, others step into the road. I wouldn't dream of digging my heels in to ask a whole family to move away from me, when it is easy for me to step around them. Common sense should prevail. Not petty arguments on who is right and who is wrong.

rozina Tue 31-Mar-20 16:44:57

Yes, beswitched, I couldn't put it better. I went out today for my walk and found most of it was walking around people who are hogging the pavement with me in the road!!! I've even shouted out to people to walk either at the inside of the pavement or the edge of the pavement, but it doesn't seem to dawn on them, in fact people are still looking at their iphones instead of looking how near they are walking to other people!

Pikachu Tue 31-Mar-20 16:48:23

Valerie I didn’t ‘dig my heels in’ ‘Twas I who stepped off the curb and into the road. Even on a 3m wide pavement.

Pikachu Tue 31-Mar-20 16:48:42

Smug