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So I was chatting with a coworker over drinks tonight and was roped into a conversation about which side of the road is best to drive on. Please! I have no interest in debating this here, lol I've already had my ear talked off and I don't even feel strongly about it.
However, in the course of the conversation my coworker had mentioned for numerous reasons why driving on the left was more "natural" which led me to the question about how people in the UK walk on the sidewalk or "pavement" as I was corrected. Here in America, if you're walking on any type of busy confined space it is customary that you walk on the right hand side, just as though you were driving here in the US. Likewise if you're going up an escalator, you stand on the right hand side, and people who walk, pass you on the left, just like you pass on the left when driving here.
Now, when asked about this, he insisted that in England there is no etiquette at all regarding these situations. He told me people know to just look up and avoid people as you walk. But wouldn't that lead to people constantly doing a little dance where two people walking towards each other move to same side because there is no standard side to step to?
He's from Norwich and has never lived elsewhere in the UK. He had told me Norwich was a big city in England, however I looked it up and while it is of historical importance, it is not a big city at all. Further, he's lived his entire time here in America in Raleigh North Carolina, another small city. This has led me to believe that he simply has no experience regarding which side to walk on, because he's never lived in a busy enough city for this matter.
In America if a sidewalk is not crowded, as is likely in a small city, people walk wherever. It's not like there is a dividing line in the middle of the sidewalk and people are required to walk on the right. However, once a sidewalk starts to get busy, people just naturally start walking on their right. If you were to walk around downtown Philadelphia at a busy time of day, you would need to walk on your right or you'd be constantly run over by people.
So is it the same deal in the UK? Is there a standard side to walk on? Does my friend's belief that there is no standard side to walk on, stem from his lack of experience with big cities? Or is there truly no customary side to walk on in the UK?
Hmmmmm, that's a difficult question. I would say there is no set side of the pavement to walk on. If I go to a busy city, like nearby Manchester, I find that folks just adjust where they are walking as people come at them from the opposite way. We tend to weave from side to side, avoiding people as best we can.
On escalators, I find folks stand on the right, going up or down, but not always.
Now, I have just returned from Spain, and people there just walk straight at you. On a busy promenade, they make no adjustments at all in their direction. I always did as I do in England, and moved to the left or right to avoid walking right into them. I was tempted to walk as they did, straight at other people, and see what happened. I didn't though.......
You just move out of the way when you see people walking towards you, with both of you saying sorry if you accidentally graze one another. There's no strict sidewalk etiquette.
Quote:
Originally Posted by English Dave
On escalators, I find folks stand on the right, going up or down, but not always.
London is the only place I've been to where there is escalator etiquette - at least on the Tube. Stand on the right so people can walk up the left side if they want to. That doesn't seem to exist at all here. People will just stand on whatever side and next to one another therefore blocking people from passing them. I think it's pretty annoying.
Then again, in London, queuing for a bus is nonexistent. It's every man for themselves.
Well that seems pretty definitive. I must say, I'm shocked. As large as a city such as London is, walking on a sidewalk where people walk on both sides, in both directions, with no standard of which way to step when you're walking towards someone seems incredibly chaotic.
Lol though I guess you've been managing just fine for quite awhile. Thanks for your responses.
Well that seems pretty definitive. I must say, I'm shocked. As large as a city such as London is, walking on a sidewalk where people walk on both sides, in both directions, with no standard of which way to step when you're walking towards someone seems incredibly chaotic.
Lol though I guess you've been managing just fine for quite awhile. Thanks for your responses.
Yes, it can be pretty chaotic in the busier parts London but I suppose that's part of the fun! The thing is, even if there was some sort of etiquette for walking on the pavement, there are so many tourists, it would be ignored anyway!
This is very annoying and London is far from being the only place with very busy sidewalks/pavements. In the tube there are some places where it's marked to stay left. But those are relatively few. I regularly use two very busy multi-twisting stairways (not in London) about 7 feet wide and one is marked to stay left but it's ignored (and many of the users are regulars). The other is not marked and it's also chaotic.
Some bike paths are shared with pedestrians and that can be even more of a nightmare. Bicyclists are usually better about staying left but not always and pedestrians, as mentioned are not, even when bikes are in the mix.
Most things in London are wonderfully (or annoyingly, depending on your view) orderly. So why there is not a standard pass on the left is nonsense. I can drive on the right or the left with equal comfort but I can't stand 'the dance'. Yes you can dart out of everyone's way but a standard would make things more predictable and efficient.
This is not a US vs UK thing either as the continent has no problem walking consistently on one side (right).
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