Pavement Rage

by Gerald L. Lacambra

Definition: Pavement rage is an annoyance of other people's walking pace to the point of taking aggressive measures.

People in London are annoyed by the slow pace of some pedestrians walking along popular Oxford Street. The tension between walkers has come to the point of possible legislative action. There is a proposal being discussed in the Westminster City Council that would divide the streets into two lanes, one for speed walkers and the other for more casual walkers. Fines would be levied on slow walkers who dare to cross over to the speed walker lane. "Slow walkers using the fast lane would be ticketed by marshals or caught by speed cameras, with fines of £10."

The proposed Operation Tugboat would divide the street into two lanes, one with a minimum speed of 3 miles per hour. The average pedestrian speed along the street is 1 mph.

Polls show that good number of people in the area have experienced pavement rage and actually may harbor aggressive tendencies that would lead them to committing pavement rage themselves.

A poll of workers in the area showed that 89% had experienced "pavement rage" over having their paths blocked by the throngs of slow-moving shoppers. Not only did they get mad, 2/3 said they had been victims of aggression and 1/3 admitted they were the ones who committed an aggressive act out of pedestrian rage.