I don't really think Spaniards do walk in the roadway in preference to on the footpath. At least not the majority. That's because most Spaniards, over 80%, live in Madrid or in towns and cities especially along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts. If they tried walking in the road their life expectancy would plummet. I've never particularly noticed that Spaniards in Murcia or Alicante dice with traffic any more than Londoners or the good people of Workington. They certainly don't dice with traffic in the same way that Egyptians in Cairo and Giza do.
My guess, though, is that John was thinking about Pinoso sized places. If that's the case, then the simple answer might be that people walk in the road because they can. At least they can without almost certainly getting to see the insides of an emergency and accident unit. There may be a second possibility too. Most rural areas have been abandoned by the young, they are filled with older people. Past a certain age people tend to have problems with dodgy knees, restless leg syndrome, weak ankles, and so on. They may have agility problems long before they need scooters or even before the walking sticks, frames and pushers stage. The problems of clambering up and down kerbs, or of manoeuvring wheels or frames from one pavement to another, especially given the continual ups and downs occasioned by roadways and entrances, may mean that sticking to the tarmac makes the whole thing easier. As possibility two and a half, those knobbly slopes that lead to the pedestrian crossings are also a devil to cross with anything wheeled. Easier to stay in the roadway.
Possibility number three is the width of the pavements. Lots of small Spanish towns have narrow streets. Someone told me that it was to ensure more shade in the hotter months, though I'm dubious about that explanation. Nonetheless, the streets in small towns are often narrow, so, if you're going to leave room for an Audi Q7 to get by, the pavements can't be wide. So, people carrying shopping bags, pushing a pram or holding their child's hand will require the same skill level as the Great Blondin crossing the Niagara Falls to stay on the pavement. The roadway is easier.
Possibility number four is that it's a ruse to make passing cars stop. It's likely that the car will hold someone you went to school with, your cousin, the local priest or your next door neighbour. This provides a natural opportunity for one of Spaniards' favourite pastimes: talking. Think about it, we Brits like a notice, something written, that tells us when the shop is open or, in the hospital, signs that direct us to the Ear, Nose, and Throat Department. Spaniards much prefer to interact with someone, to have a conversation.
Lastly, these people may be natural warriors and they see a human rights issue at stake here. Cars date from 1885, and streets were still pretty car-free until the late 1950s in the UK and maybe 20 years later in Spain. Consequently it's a relatively recent phenomenon that people on foot have to play second fiddle to people in cars. Pedestrianised areas are still relatively uncommon in Spain and the legislators seem, still, to be very pro car. Maybe it's just that natural Spanish rebelliousness.
One last thing I've never heard a motorist honk at a pedestrian other than in a gentle, informative way, in Pinoso. Walking in the street is unlikely to result in violence. Alternatively, I well remember a car driver, in a Tesco car park in Huntingdon, holding their hand on the horn because they considered that the trolley pushing pedestrian was taking to long to cross the zebra crossing. I'd been in Spain for a few years then and I was truly startled by the violence of that reaction.
Does anyone else have any better suggestions for John?
