Why do slow walkers swerve and drift?

[M A V I C]

I realize not everyone walks as fast as me. I'm fine with that. While I generally don't understand why someone would take an excessive amount of time to walk from, for example, their office door to the bus stop, I don't need to understand.

But what I don't get is why they often swerve or drift when walking. For example, I come up on a slow walker on the left side of the sidewalk, and as I go to pass on the right they drift to the right, thus thwarting my attempt to pass. I've had it happen where when I then go to pass on the left, they move back to the left. I'm still behind them, out of their peripheral view. They can't see me.

This isn't even people on their phone. They often have their head up and are watching where they're, slowly, walking. When I worked at Amazon, this was super common among FTEs. They were salary and overworked so their minds were generally only one step up from being asleep. (The contractors, paid hourly, were always quick walkers. Lunch with contractors was always so efficient.)

Is it that people are in avoidance of where they're going next? If they walk slow and swerve back and forth, it will take them longer to get to where they're supposed to go.

[cbelt3]

Casual perambulation has a different gait than power walking. More wobble.

[mattkime]

Are you secretly a new yorker?

[NewtonMP2100]

....is this Tokyo......Drift.....??

[cbelt3]

FWIW... as a slow walker with bad knees, if I walk with a cane will New Yorkers still run me over, even if I stay close to the building in the slow lane ?

[Buzz]

Neurological deficits.
I am the slow walker, even when using my heavy duty walker.
Without the walker, a straight line is impossible. Other pedestrians beware.
==

[Lemon Drop]

Have you tried saying "excuse me, passing on your left?" They may not see you behind them but they can surely hear you.

[Sarcany]

M A V I C wrote:
But what I don't get is why they often swerve or drift when walking. For example, I come up on a slow walker on the left side of the sidewalk, and as I go to pass on the right they drift to the right, thus thwarting my attempt to pass. I've had it happen where when I then go to pass on the left, they move back to the left.

I dunno.

Why do Maryland drivers swerve rapidly and precipitously left before moving rapidly right and vice-versa, never signaling, always tailgating, and always traveling at unsafe speeds?

It's just one of those weird enigmas of the human-condition that you might see on any given day.

[pdq]

I'm a fairly tall man, and in addition to the aimless perambulators that MAVIC describes, us folks also have to deal with the social discomfort of inevitably catching up to shorter people, usually women.

I understand the sensation of someone approaching you from behind may be semi-alarming, but I just thought I would take this opportunity to say it's not any fun for us either. Yes, we can plod along at your pace, but then it feels like we're stalking you.

I dunno. Maybe we should all wear little rear-view mirrors.

Edit: Also, when you slow walkers suddenly realize someone's catching up to you and you jerk your head around in alarm, should we look at you? Stare straight ahead? Pretend we're distracted by something across the street? I know - we should probably excuse ourselves in a friendly way (for what?), but that's asking a lot for some of us scandihoovians.

[Lew Zealand]

Fast walker, originally a New Yorker, I weave badly when walking unless I pay a lot of attention to it, which I usually do as I realize I weave as I walk.

It's not just slow walkers.