Reference no: EM133580654

Question: Just as there are rules of the road for drivers of cars, trucks, and buses, there are "rules of the sidewalk" for pedestrians. (2) The sociologist Erving Goffman points out that, for one thing, pedestrians on a sidewalk keep to their right, relative to an imaginary dividing line in the middle of the sidewalk. (3) Thus people sort themselves into lanes going in opposite directions, as on a vehicular roadway. (4) And people who are walking slowly often tend to stay closer to the buildings, while to their left, in a "passing lane," are the people who are moving more quickly. (5) Also, like drivers, pedestrians scan the route ahead so that they can swerve around obstacles-say, a puddle or a hole in the walkway-and so that they will not collide with anyone else. (6) If a head-on collision seems possible, pedestrians will make eye contact and maneuver to keep out of each other's way. (7) Goffman notes one obvious difference, though: rules of the road are often codified in laws and regulations, whereas rules of the sidewalk are informal social customs. main idea ?