Pavement Rage                                                                                                              

          Have you ever heard the phrase "Sometimes you have to stop to smell the roses"?  Well, that phrase may no longer have a place in society.  Everyone is in such a rush to get to where they want to go that they now have rage towards anyone who gets in their way.  I'm sure everyone who has had to walk on a crowded sidewalk has  experienced some form of pavement rage because everyone is shoving and bumping, trying to get to where they want to go.  These web sites discuss people who have takes this rage to an extreme.

For more information about pavement rage see http://www.walking.about.com/recreation/walking/library/weekly/aa112400c.htm.

 

This web site talks about issues of pavement rage.  It is written by Wendy Bumgardner on the web page about.com.  On this web site they have three pages:  walking survival for shoppers, walker’s wish list, and pavement rage.  The first page covers the right clothing and shoes you should have and a reminder of things you should do to make your journey go smoother.  It also has links to get a training program at your pace before you go walking in the malls.  The second page lists everything you could need and want before you become a walker.  All of this is presented in a somewhat humorous way to show how exaggerated this problem has gotten.  On the third page they discuss the pavement rage issues that’s happening in London and it has a list of pavement etiquette rules.

 

Survey of People Who Have Visited the Web Site

 


Do You Experience Pavement Rage?
Yes - slower walkers anger me    
27 votes (31%)
Yes - I've been a victim of others' rage    
6 votes (7%)
No - I walk calmly  
54 votes (62%)
 

87 people have voted so far

 

 

 

Another web site that covers pavement rage well is http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2000/12/19/fp1s2-csm.shtml.

 

            In the Christian Science Monitor web site there is a story about pavement rage written by Kevin Byrne.  The streets of London are extremely crowded which causes a lot of rage.  To fix this problem they have proposed that the sidewalks on each side of the street be divided into 2 lanes, a fast lane and a slow lane.  They would like to have the people who walk slow, use cell phones, or read maps in the fast lane be subject to a fine.  They are also considering one-way pavements.  I found this web site interesting because it is very informative of the pavement rage that they are having in other places.  If you are interested in what’s happening with this, they also have more links at their web site where you can find out more information.

In a survey of 510 people who live or work in the area, 89 percent said they had experienced pavement rage at least once. Of these, nearly two-thirds said that they were the victims of aggression, and about a third said that they were perpetrators. 

        It may be a little extreme to charge people fines for walking slow but pavement rage is definitely stronger in some places than in others.  I liked these web sites because they discusses the problems of pavement rage but it adds some humor.  Also, pavement rage is probably more common among people who use walking as a means of getting around, rather than the people who do it for exercise or for fun.  No matter how you look at it, pedestrian rage is an issue and it's not going away.

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