A lot of their examples involve narrow passages in locations, where it's likely that a large percentage of pedestrians are pressed for time: airports, subways, business districts. There's etiquette that prescribes behavior in those places, and often it's quite official.
In Moscow, which has one of the busiest subway systems in the world, you learn as a child to stand on the right and let people pass on the left, regardless of how crowded or empty the escalator is. There are occasional loudspeaker reminders of that rule. When I moved to the States, it exasperated me that people would block the entire escalator and wouldn't even think of budging, being completely oblivious of other people and their needs.
Another recent example -- I was late to a meeting and had to navigate through a long corridor, which was reasonably empty and wide enough for 6 people to walk shoulder to shoulder. No problem, except for a lady in front of me, who not only walked just fast enough that I couldn't execute a quick maneuver to pass her, but also did not walk in a straight path and instead oscillated quickly and unpredictably. We walked for half the length of this passage, before I finally had an opening to pass her.
Generally, slow walkers are not a problem. Slow walkers in narrow passages that act as if they're a sole Earth inhabitant -- are.
Washington DC's one of the few places in the US I've seen with that same escalator etiquette in the Metro. I love it. Unfortunately, it doesn't usually apply at shopping malls.
In Moscow, which has one of the busiest subway systems in the world, you learn as a child to stand on the right and let people pass on the left, regardless of how crowded or empty the escalator is. There are occasional loudspeaker reminders of that rule. When I moved to the States, it exasperated me that people would block the entire escalator and wouldn't even think of budging, being completely oblivious of other people and their needs.
Another recent example -- I was late to a meeting and had to navigate through a long corridor, which was reasonably empty and wide enough for 6 people to walk shoulder to shoulder. No problem, except for a lady in front of me, who not only walked just fast enough that I couldn't execute a quick maneuver to pass her, but also did not walk in a straight path and instead oscillated quickly and unpredictably. We walked for half the length of this passage, before I finally had an opening to pass her.
Generally, slow walkers are not a problem. Slow walkers in narrow passages that act as if they're a sole Earth inhabitant -- are.