Talking of walking

In the TDN (Saturday, July 28), Jim Tucker was right on with his comments about which is the ‘‘correct’’ side to try to walk on the footpath.

Some who know me or know of me will be aware that I shall be doing quite a bit of footpath exercise in the coming months.

All my fault!

However, I have noticed a disturbing trend that the keep to the left rule is completely ignored these days, both in New Plymouth and even in a highly civilised city like Darwin, where I visited two weeks ago.

I am quite skinny but often when walking window shopping I am forced to move into a shop doorway to avoid the onslaught of a group four abreast coming towards me with no intention of walking single file to get by.

I may be wrong but I thought that these people, mainly young, are fully dependant on the wires in their ears and their cell phones held out in front of them are solely for navigation purposes just like a car GPS.

Whenever I have been brave enough to ask some of these people if their current programme indicates oncoming foot traffic or not, they give me the weirdest look and say I have no idea of the modern world. They may be right!

And another thing. What is the rule about riding a bike on the footpath?

I am not talking about little pre-schoolers riding their baby pink bike alongside mum pushing a pram.

I am talking about big kids with their baseball caps on back to front riding mountain bikes on the footpath of Waitara’s main street. In my day that was illegal. When did the rule change?

Rob Godderidge, Urenui