Hannieroo wrote:I don't know about people refusing to give way when they are in a group and I am walking alone. It could be because I am white or female or have a dog. Or it could just be young male rudeness. I was thinking about this this morning, my preferred walk has people and cars but is not busy. I normally walk on one side that borders open ground and never have problems but if I cross over for a change of scene then it usually happens. The other side of the street is entirely apt blocks
Two taxis have refused to take me and pulled up 10 meters away for another fare and a kitchen fitter the agent brought round for a quote was quite happily measuring until I walked in the room and then he walked out of the house saying he didn't care for the job.
Ok these are interesting.
The give-way thing has been discussed on this forum, and others, for years, and is still topical.
Question - do you walk on the right or left? For an American like me I had to train myself to walk on the left, as we usually walk on the right, as we drive.
After years here I came to the conclusion long ago that walking on the same side as driving only applies some of the time, nevertheless I try to respect what I think is local protocol and stay left, but people here walk aimlessly more often than not.
That would be ok if they gave way, but not having a protocol, not a written one, just a common-sense one, means these problems will only continue, and they have been highlighted by locals as well as well-intentioned foreigners trying to do the right thing.
One thing I've noticed with some dog owners is that they walk the dog on the side of the walkway with the grass, regardless of this very loose protocol.
So, no easy answer as no one seems to want to answer it and so we're left to the vagueness of how to respect each other walking down the street. I can tell you that we don't have this problem in major American cities - people walk on the right AND politely give way when there's no clear indication, and without drama.
Sheesh, this is such small stuff....
The taxi thing is a more difficult one to speculate on - it could be that they passed you over because they thought the other person would give them a longer fare / ride. Of if you had your dog with you they may not want it in the car.