One of my biggest frustrations as a tall person is being stuck behind slow walking people.
I have long legs, a long stride and I’ll be damned if I can’t make use of it when i’m walking. I’m not saying I like to run around everywhere I go like Sonic the Hedgehog but I do appreciate walking uninterrupted at my pace without having to slow down to the speed of a turtle. It seems that whenever I’m in a legitimate hurry to get somewhere the number of slow walking people magically multiplies in that moment! Sometimes I even get temporarily trapped among a group of slow walking people and feel like a character from The Walking Dead, trying to fight my way out of a group of zombies.
Generally, slow walking people are everywhere, although they tend to conglomerate in some places more so than others. Here is a break down of where you are most likely to find slow walking people:
- Shopping centers.
- Narrow footpaths.
- City malls and the surrounding footpaths.
- Escalators.
Every day when I leave the office I have to navigate about a 100m section of narrow footpath parallel to the road, and without fail every single day I get stuck behind a zombie slow walking person. Why would you want to waddle on your way home!? Are people really that sad to be leaving work! During this period a lot of thoughts cross my mind, a majority of which are covered here. This is a list of 20 thoughts we’ve all likely had at some point when stuck behind a slow walking person.
It seems I’m not the only one to feel such sentiments towards slow walking people:
How I deal with slow walking people
First and foremost you need to try and not lose your patience. Frustration and anger only seems to amplify the issue and make it feel like the person is walking slower than a sloth. Sometimes I take a few deep breaths and remind myself the person in front of me has not be gifted with long legs like mine.
My main strategy for dealing with slow walking people is to transition into “Formula 1” mode. This is where I try to maintain my current stride but constantly slip into and out of spaces around me. The downside to this is that sometimes you might accidentally bump into someone or worse, get trapped in a spot where there is no where else to slip into. As you are attempting this maneuver be on the look out for other tall people employing this tactic – they are competing for the same empty spaces as you.
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you just have to accept defeat and endure a slow walk (try to make the most of it by soaking in the surrounding scenery).
The most logical solution
When thinking about how to solve the problem of getting stuck behind slow walking people, it seems logical that there be “fast walking” lanes and “normal / slow walking” lanes on footpaths. For a long time this seemed like a fantasy until recently Liverpool became the first city to open fast walking lanes!
These lane’s, whilst only setup for a trail, were located on the city’s St John Street, and allowed users to speed through the crowds while perusing the three-storey Liverpool One shopping centre. You can read the full News article here. I think these lanes are a brilliant idea and would really easy the congestion of slow walking people.
Let’s hope that these lanes will prove successful, demand for them will increase forcing governments around the world to implement them.
An alternative solution
One man, after years of frustration (I imagine) from dealing with slow walking people, has devised a brilliant (and relatively cheap) method for parting groups of slow walking people like Moses parted the Red Sea. His solution? A hand held bicycle bell. Normally when you are walking and you hear a bicycle bell ringing you automatically move out of the way. Seems too simple doesn’t it? Have a look at the clip below to see just how well this method really works. Fast forward to about the 30 second mark.
What are your thoughts about the introduction of “fast walking lanes” and how do you deal with slow walking people?
Please share your ideas in the comments below.
Stand tall and be proud.
