Why do slow walkers swerve and drift?

[wave rider]

M A V I C wrote:
wave rider, thanks for sharing. I'm curious just how much you swerve. An example of what I see is like this:
- Six foot wide sidewalk
- Person in the right 2'
- 20' later they're in the left 2'
- 20' later they're in the right 2' again

Thanks.

I don't think you would have a problem overtaking me, but…

If the six foot wide sidewalk is:
- smooth,
- straight,
- level,
-and I am concentrating, currently you will have a guaranteed two feet on my left to pass, three feet most of the time.

Squirrels, birds, other distractions, all bets are off. Ditto for uneven and curvy.

With arms tight against my sides, I'm a tad over two feet wide base line, normal arm movements while walking make me wider. I've always been adept at pivoting my shoulders to ease passing for oncoming traffic and try to be aware of overtaking folks.

On the coastal bluff, I'm walking most on dual track dirt roads around agriculture. The curved bottom of the tracks tend to keep me centered in them and the occasional stab of my walking stick aids in balance. The path in town took too much concentration to be fun.