Walk on the Right, People!
10September 15, 2014 by Keisha || The Girl Next Door is Black
Photo cr: motionsoft.net
“I no longer have road rage, I have walk rage,” I explained to my friends at breakfast recently, about one of the ways which my life has changed since leaving Los Angeles.
“We’re in the city. People walk, take public transportation, taxis, Uber. We’re trying to get somewhere, not take leisurely strolls through the streets.”
Traffic, horrendously douchey driving and my resulting road rage which became way to commonplace for my liking (I don’t think it’s healthy to regularly wish for people to “get his someday, motherfucker!”) top the list of reasons why I left L.A. Now, after nearly two years of living in San Francisco, I can count on two hands the number of times I’ve driven my car. My poor, neglected car which once held way too much import in my life.
My friends, all current L.A. residents, listened with amusement as I continued my mini-tirade.
“I get irrationally bothered when people walk slowly or when they don’t walk on the right side of the sidewalk. It messes up the flow. It’s so annoying! That and standing all haphazardly on the escalators, blocking the flow of people who are just trying to catch their train to work. Stand to the right! Climb to the left! It’s not that hard!”
Rant over, I sat back in my seat, satisfied at having released a string of words suppressed for too long.
“You’re supposed to walk to the right?” my friend K____ asked with mock trepidation.
Wide-eyed, my friend L____ added, “Yeah, I didn’t know that.”
photo cr: emproproducts.com
I fixed them with a stare of disbelief and looked to I____, L____’s husband for validation. He nodded at me in agreement.
“Yes! In this country, we walk on the right side of the street if there are others on the sidewalk. It’s like driving. You drive on the right side of the road. I know it’s different in some other countries. Anyway, that way if you’re walking down the street and are walking toward a stranger, you avoid doing that stupid, ‘Which way are you going? I’m going left, no you’re going right! Ok, I’ll go right,’ dance.”
“Oh, is that why that happens?” K___ remarked with a half-smile.
“Yes,” I sighed, “do people not know this?? Am I going to have to blog about this?!”
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The Girl Next Door is Black 
Hahahaaa! This is great!
♥
Amber
All the Cute
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Preach on!
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Ohhhh this is London too! I don’t think we have a ‘side’ to walk on…We wouldn’t enforce it anyway as we like to have something to internally seethe over.
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I would just assume that in London you guys walk on the left, since you insist on that madness of driving on the left side of the road (:p just teasing). I stuck to walking on the left when I visited London.
“We wouldn’t enforce it anyway as we like to have something to internally seethe over.”
I got a good giggle out of this!
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I live in Australia, it’s the left side for us. But this gets on my nerves too!! Evem on the walking trails where it has signage, people still walk in the middle (which is fair enough on a secluded trail where you rarely pass anyone). Seriouspy, how hard is it for people to remmeber the road rules when passing someone! Stick to ypur side of the road and i will stick to mine! Or i will probably run you over because i have only ridden a bike twice in the last 10 years.
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This girl in London agrees (except, walk on the left!!!) the tourists are the worst offenders. Even though the are signs ALL OVER THE PLACE. Walk rage definitely exists in London. (Sorry, but Americans are the worst offenders- and they can read the bloody signs-that are ALL OVER THE PLACE) Can you feel my rage yet?
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Lol, yes I can imagine the steam blowing from your ears. I get similarly frustrated when walking through parts of Union Square here. I have to take deep breaths and remind myself that I don’t want to be one of those asshole residents I run into when I’m a tourist.
I do remember having to retrain my brain to walk on the left and crossing the street took way more concentration than it should have, lol. At least you guys have signs!
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It seems simple enough, but somehow I’m only consciously aware of that rule when on a people mover or escalator. But in those cases, you stand on the right and walk on the left and I get frustrated when people don’t understand that.
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In fairness, it’s not as much of an issue in L.A. with cars being the preferred mode of travel.
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hahah, I just complained about this to my boyfriend yesterday. We live in Chicago and this makes us crazy! Funny post!
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