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On a damp, grey day in Soho, London, Cameron Roh positions himself a metre after a pedestrian speaking loudly on her mobile. She violates his “laws” of “sidewalk conduct”, so he raises his phone and presses record. Lost in conversation, the woman doesn’t see him, but still observing from afar, the scene feels deeply uncomfortable. What if she turns around? Is this allowed? Is this ethical?

Suddenly, she ends her call and hurries across the street, unaware of what has just happened. Footage secured, Roh returns to where I am hiding and delivers his verdict, which is marks out of 10 – with 10 being perfect sidewalk behavior. “She scores two,” he declares. Her crimes? “On her phone, halting abruptly, right in the middle of the walkway, forcing others to detour. No, no, no.” She didn’t see us, but that somehow feels worse; It seems like we’ve just pickpocketed her. Roh giggles, unbothered. As a self-appointed pavement vigilante, this is his mission.

The Start of a Movement

The initial clip 21-year-old Roh shared appeared in July. In about 20 seconds, he trails five different walkers, quietly unpacking their walking style on film then scoring them for speed, path, steps and phone use. He has since rated pedestrians in NYC across dozens of clips, and has recently diversified to additional American metros. This is his first time amid the particular disorder of central London. “So far, it appears similar to New York,” he notes. At that moment, a Lime bike almost collides with us outside a cinema. “Seriously!” he cries. “Those city bikes are a new thing. That's an instant fail, pal.”

Nobody yells at anyone due to poor walking, but we all feel it

Roh says he ensures that no one can be recognized in his videos and he has strict rules about people who are off limits from judgment. Young children, school groups, the less able, senior citizens – though his method for deciding if someone is impaired remains vague. On one occasion, we watch a petite lady, who I would guess in her sixties, maneuvering a folding bicycle, making her path through a school group while on her phone. He observes her and opts not to record, despite the fact she is breaking almost every one of his rules. “I target those who deliberately opt to be inconsiderate,” he states. And it's not only since they annoy other pavement users, he says. “They also pose risks to safety.” The woman with the Brompton is “fast, and clearly has somewhere to be.”

The Guidelines of Pavement Conduct

Rather than presume one correct method to walk, Roh suggests that everyone simply has the right to move freely. Yet whether it’s manspreading on buses or queue-jumping, frustration at poor public protocol is widespread, it’s a bedrock of British humour. That said, while holding strong opinions on how things ought to be done is typically British, expressing anger publicly isn't the British way. “Rage only ever applies to traffic – it's identical in New York,” Roh remarks. “The reality is, nobody shouts at anyone over poor walking, but we all feel it.”

Sidewalk manners is “getting worse,” he observes, partly because of mobile devices. He pauses to point out how many people nearby are walking while staring at their screens. “I call these people neck strainers,” he comments. “Individuals fixed in a downward tilt on their phones, not with us in reality.”

When judging walkers, the first thing Roh looks at is pace. “If your walking is poor – like meandering, or pulling an object – yet your speed is sufficient, then you likely don't hinder my progress,” he says. Then it’s placement. “If you’re zigzagging, aimlessly cutting people off, being inattentive to the environment, that’ll lose you a few points instantly.” Among these, there are some subcategories that will feel both new and familiar – shared bikes on sidewalks, phone-gawping, e-scooters on walkways, charity fundraisers, wheelie suitcases that are small enough to be carried, individuals distracted by food while moving to watch their direction. Additionally, there are oncoming pedestrians who collide with others, he says, as we step aside to avoid one. “If you're consulting your GPS, then simply step aside,” he mutters to some ladies prodding a screen with their fingers.

The world is so disconnected. We’re consumed by our phones

A Glossary of Infractions

Roh maintains a list of misdemeanours that forms the basis for his ratings. The woman outside Caffè Nero performed a “sudden stop”, he says, which occurs when individuals stop abruptly. “Whoa! Complete halt. Right in front of you, no checking the blind spot.”

A personal bugbear is groups walking abreast: “paired walkers” or “triple blockers”, and “linked double wides”, which is a couple attached to one another somehow “making it harder the flow of traffic,” he remarks. What's the largest group he’s seen? “Occasionally there are a linked quadruple-wide, at which point …” With a heavy sigh, he shakes his head.

Of course, Roh isn't the pioneer to become agitated over this issue. It's a category if not invented then normalised by the comic writer a famous essayist, whose cutting maxims about how people should behave have inspired books and tours. Roh is indifferent at her mention and plans to Google her later.

We bypass a group of men gathered centrally on the sidewalk. They ought to make room for those of us who have somewhere to be,” he mutters. But it goes deeper than that – a major concern for Roh is that cities seem increasingly designed cars over pedestrians. Pavements are narrow, and frequently uneven compared with the roads beside them. Some pavements even slip into roads and back again, without clear marking. Strolling in urban areas equalizes, yet it's confusing and sometimes risky, turning a potentially civilised urban stroll into a crowded, hurried dash. “These spaces ignore pedestrians, even though they are.” In truth, it’s about getting from A to B at speed – or capitalism. As an author noted in The Colossus of New York: “All believe they have greater needs, everyone thinks their day has been harder than others', and everyone is correct.”

The Motivation For the Mission

Being part of Generation Z, Roh is immersed in online platforms”. Born and educated in Ohio, he had a preview of his calling at high school, when he had to deal with “hallway rage”. People in corridors, people loitering … “I'll be delayed to my destination because of you? No way, that’s gotta stop,” he insists. “I've long been a fast walker, always directed.”

After moving to New York for its golden opportunities, he was shocked by the way people moved in this tight urban space, so he joined the masses who use social media into a lucrative sport, and began to film them.

Despite Roh's concerns about smartphones, the paradox of his content is filmed and parsed through a screen he acknowledges. “Society is fragmented,” he admits. “We’re just consumed by our phones and our AirPods. It's not only younger generations, it's all ages. Age doesn't matter. But doing what I do, is a form of engagement,