Choosing Another Path

I haven’t figured out if they’re simply not looking, if it’s an involuntary reflex or if the Dutch are just too friendly, but I walk to and from work and when I meet someone coming the other way, I spot them some distance off. I then look where they are on the path and if they’re off to one side, I move to the opposite side, and I mean right over to the opposite side. If they’re in the middle I’ll pick a side, usually the one I’m nearest, and if they’re already on the opposite side, I stay put. I usually do this well in advance, somewhere between 30 and 50 yards away if there’s space and sight to see the person from that distance. So far, almost without fail, I’ve found that this will be fine for about 5-10 seconds, then the person coming the other way will change to whichever side I happen to be walking on and will be coming straight at me. At about 10-15 yards I then have to change again to avoid running into them.

What is it with you people!? Look up, see which side I’m on, usually you won’t even have to do a thing, but stay on your own damn side of the path. I end up looking like a slow motion drunk where the length of a stagger is obscenely long.