Sidewalk rage

Get Out of My Way, You Jerk!

For the cool-headed, sidewalk rage may seem incomprehensible. After all, it seems simple enough to just go around the slow individual. Why then are some people, even those who greet other obstacles with equanimity, so infuriated by unhurried fellow pedestrians?

How one interprets the situation is key, researchers say. Ragers tend to have a strong sense of how other people should behave. Their code: Slower people keep to the right. Step aside to take a picture. And the left side of an escalator should be, of course, kept free for anyone wanting to walk up.

"A lot of us have 'shoulds' in our head," says Dr. Deffenbacher. Ragers tend to think people should do things their way, and get angry because the slow walkers are breaking the rules of civility. It's unclear exactly why some people harbor such beliefs, Dr. Deffenbacher says. Such ways of thinking are generally learned from family, friends or the media, he adds.

I wonder how an international city such as New York differs in this regard. There are a lot of different ideas about personal space, public space, etc. interacting at once. In China, I don't think anyone gets sidewalk rage. Although there are a lot of slow walkers who will block the entire sidewalk, it's also ok to bump people as you pass. Unless you're moving fast and deliver a healthy blow to a bystander, you won't hear a peep.