Why do people walk so slow?

The mall was packed today. When I got off work, I hit up Borders and FYE and MAN. People walk SO SLOW [yes- this is the thread *****ing about things 2.0]. I tend to walk real fast and weave in and out of these sloths, but every once in a while you get caught and have to go at their pace, so I did, and just imagined what is going through their heads that make them walk so slow.

bleh. people make me vomit.

 

Because it is Saturday and most of them were probably there at their leisure. Strolling around the mall is not a crime.

 

Slow walkers in general should be put down but slow walkers who are totally oblivious to those around them should be tortured a bit first as well.

 

I suppose the better question is... why are you in such a big ****ing hurry? Weaving in and out of people is pretty rude.

 

I don't mind slow individuals so much. For all I know they could be disabled or tired or something. It's usually because they're lazy and woefully out of shape and FATTY FAT FAT FATTIES, but I like trying to give people the benefit of a doubt. The annoying people are the groups who stand in a line taking up the whole width of the walkway/path/sidewalk/whatever so it's impossible to pass them easily. And these people are usually the types who ignore others who say, "Excuse me" as they try to get by. These same groups also don't get out of the way of oncoming traffic.

 

I totally agree with this. My campus is packed with incredibly slow-moving (in shape!) people. I have no idea how they ever manage to be on time for anything. They actually had to change class schedules to give us 15 minutes between classes instead of 10 because people would walk at 1 mph and be late to class.

So true. Yesterday I was hiking the Grand Canyon and near the top there's a bunch of families with small children who love to take up the entire trail width and walk really slowly because of their kids. It makes it very difficult if you're going uphill and need a certain amount of momentum.

 

Sorry but I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with all the fast walkers here. Actually, I find people who walk too slow even more frustrating than those who drive too slow (by which I mean waaaay below the speed limit).

harpuah asked why be in such a hurry. Well, on any given day I may have any number of things I need to get done, and I don't particularly appreciate anyone who slows me down. If they want to take it easy, fine, just get out of the way and take a leisurely stroll, if you want... just don't slow others down.

 

I think that's sort of a different situation. There are obvious reasons why someone might want to keep small children within an easy line of sight (or better yet, continue holding hands), even if it means inconveniencing people that have to walk around them.

 

My walking pace is pretty fast when in public.

 

Get the **** out of the way, I got people to do and things to see.

 

I find casually discharging a Mac-11 in the air tends to speed up the ongoing traffic lanes at the shopping malls.

 

I'll have to try that. I've just been tasing the slow ones into oblivion to get by.

Bright, jiggling oblivion.

 

Maybe I should try that someday.

 

It's the marijuana. They get all chill and slow at first, then congregate in the food courts.

 

But they shouldn't be allowed to dictate the pace of people who want to go faster.

 

I used to be faster than the crowds simply because I was taller than anyone else. "Stand aside, everyone! I take very large steps" and all that.

now that I'm fat and lazy I have to tell my friend to "stop running" every time we go anywhere. And thanks to all this genetically engineered food, I'm not taller than most anymore. *shakes cane*


but weaving through the crowds is totally not rude. what a silly notion...

 

My friends all complain I walk too fast.

 

I'm not tall by any means, but I walk damn fast. Probably habit of trying to keep up with taller people. I weave through crowds as well, though I tend to think of it as a game. vrooom vrooom

When I was suffering from runner's knee and couldn't walk fast it was pure torture! lol

 

I'm humming ESB's Asteroid Field in my mind when I do it

cuz the odds of making it through unscathed are about the same

 

I don't necessarily mind slow walkers -- if I did, I'd have gone completely insane years ago -- but I do get annoyed when they do things that unnecessarily impede others, like walking slowly side-by-side (especially in narrow spaces like staircases). Situational awareness and courtesy are a lot more important than speed.

For most of my life, I've had to endure people demanding that I justify walking fast, as though I'm some kind of freak for having a faster natural pace than they do. [The fact is that if I try to go slower, my knees start protesting.] I was well into adulthood before I realized that there was something fundamentally backward about the question. The mystery isn't why I walk as fast as I do, it's why is that unusual? I'm not tall or athletic; in a race, I'd be middle of the pack at best. But when none of us are making that effort, all those who were ahead of me are now way behind. Why do they lose so much more speed than I do?

Shouldering past people, squeezing in between people, and cutting off others, yes. But if someone's walking faster, taking (genuine) opportunities as they present themselves, and not intruding on others' space any more than the crowd in general is, no, that's not rude. Frankly, some degree of weaving is almost always necessary, even if you aren't that fast a walker, because crowds are too chaotic to allow for a straight path.

 

I have to walk through crowds of slow people everyday at work (airport) so I know how it feels. Because of this I tend to avoid malls and supermarkets when they're packed.

So the explanation as to why people walk slowly, aside from it being their leisure time or just "chillaxing", is simply that they haven't a single clue where they want to go.

 

I agree that this can be annoying. My favorite is when people decide to take up both lanes of the path that I jog on, forcing people that are biking, running, or walking to go off the path and around them. The cool thing is, I can be rude and run right through them. They're fatties, what are they gonna do, chase me down and beat me up?

 

I deliberately walk slow at a crossing to make the people in cars that wait for me actually wait, as I get nervous when they sneak around the corner.

And you shouldn't ride your bike on the path if you are an adolescent or older. That's scary.