My uncle, aunt and their two children moved to the US for a few years a long time ago, and had the same happen: First day in a new neighbourhood, what do you do but have a walk around to see what it's like? The police assumed their car must have broken down, and on hearing they'd intentionally set out to walk around the neighbourhood, they seemed to imply they didn't think it was safe and offered to drive them home.

It satisfied a few European stereotypes of America all in one go.

I'm pleased to have visited various parts of the US since, and confirmed it certainly doesn't happen everywhere, but I've also experienced first hand just how pedestrian hostile some areas are...

Happened to me as well. A culture filled with imaginary dangers lurking behind every corner could benefit from some soul searching.

Sadly, the less people walk around the more pedestrian hostile the city becomes.

"Walking, just walking, walking?"

This reminded me of the short story "The Pedestrian" by Ray Bradbury:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pedestrian

We've studied this story in the English class (probably some 25 years ago).

You and Bob Dylan.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/14/bob.dylan/

Now there's a title that's straight from The Onion.

That's a bummer.

One of my favorite things is to walk down the middle of the street in my Grandma's town on Thanksgiving or Christmas. Small town, shops are closed, quiet except for a few bars and people's homes. Also a good break from family, and a walk on a day where I eat a lot.

I remember reading that it happened to Isaac Asimov many decades ago so it's not a new thing (in the US that is).

Me too.

Cop said, "are you English?"

"Yep"

"Though so"

Hahaha I get this every time I cross a street upon a suitably large gap in traffic rather than waiting for the lights... because that's what we learn growing up in England where almost nobody waits for the lights - especially if there's a gap in traffic. The numbers of people gobsmacked at this behaviour here is... funny, honestly.

As a pedestrian, are you really going to stand around and be dictated what you can and can't do by a stupid fcking light? Life is short, get your head out of your phone, pay attention to your surroundings and cross the fcking road before the little light comes to tell you that your time is up and it's your turn to go to the next life and you missed it.

Every time someone baulks at me for doing it, I can't help but grin and remember the quote from the original Point Break:

"It was about us against the system. That system that kills the human spirit. We stand for something. To those dead souls inching along the freeways in their metal coffins ... we show them that the human spirit is still alive."

Sometimes it can get worse than that. http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/assault-charges-dr...

I lived in a place that was about 5 miles outside of town if you took a main road, and 6-8 miles if you took the country route.

Of course, taking the main road by foot or bicycle would get you stopped by the police telling you to not do that on that road. It was for cars, not pedestrians.