Nearly 99% of the time, I wait for the WALK sign to give me the right-of-way before crossing the street. I’m not sure how this became ingrained, but it did. In DC, traffic signals cycle fairly quickly, especially during rush hour. I don’t think I’ve ever had to wait more than 10-15 seconds for the WALK sign unless I just missed it. I also notice that as I walk to work, the large majority (perhaps 9/10ths) of pedestrians around me do the same. Occasionally, a rebel steps into the street against the signal and the rest of us look somewhat baffled - we look up at the signal to see if perhaps it changed and nobody noticed.
The only other city I visit with any frequency is NYC, where I notice the exact opposite behaviour. I’ll be standing on the corner with 10 other people, and suddenly everybody makes a dash into the street. Some are narrowly missed by passing automobiles, bicycle messengers and busses. I end up standing on the curb by myself, feeling a little silly. I can’t imagine it’s worth the risk just to get to work (or home) an extra 45 seconds early. These are probably the same people who run up & down the metro escalator even though there’s no train on the platform.
Do you wait for the crossing signal in your city? What city would that be, by the way?
You must be in the nicer part of DC! At every corner I cross, I do not wait for the light to get green, and neither do many other pedestrians. In our area of town the lights can be slow, even if there’s no traffic. So you’ll always see someone taking a few hesitant steps into the street, looking both ways, then crossing.
Also, those people running up and down the escalators have no idea if a train is on the platform. And since the trains are notorious for running late, people don’t want to miss an opportunity to board (sometimes if there’s a delay it may be several minutes before the next train arrives, and this can really screw you up if you’re connecting to another train line).
Here in Atlanta, if it’s a crosswalk without a light, pedestrians have the right-of-way. If it’s a crosswalk with a light, pedestrians have to wait for the “WALK” signal, but then they’ve got absolute right-of-way.
Unfortunately, both pedestrians and drivers ignore these simple rules. It seems to be a test of manhood for young idiots (and some old enough to know better) to stroll slowly across a busy street (not at a crosswalk) and practically dare people to run over them. When it comes to drivers, they’re the worst of any place I’ve lived. (And possibly have been for some time; Margaret Mitchell was run over at an unmarked crosswalk.)
I obey the rules both as a driver and pedestrian. Normally I like the idea of breaking rules just because so many of them are stupid or needlessly oppressive, but when it comes to traffic rules, I respect them. They’re a set of rules that actually make sense, and exist for the safety and convenience of everybody on the street. If basic traffic rules were followed consistently, we probably wouldn’t have 50,000 traffic deaths a year in the U.S.
When I worked downtown, there was a particular intersection where people tended to make left turns through the crosswalk, while the “WALK” signal was still on, while it was occupied by pedestrians. One of these idiots almost hit me once, and I reached out and punched a nice dent in his truck. There’s practically no police enforcement of traffic laws in Atlanta, so you’re mostly on your own.
In Manhattan, you’re going to come to another crosswalk in under a minute if you’re walking north or south. So it would really add up if you waited for the walk signal at every one. And if there’s no cars coming, why wait? Even if you have the walk signal, someone is probably trying to make a right turn into your crosswalk anyway, which is just as much of a danger.