Yes, that's precisely what happens. You'll be given a safe berth, with cars stopping or avoiding you by at least the distance you could conceivably fall over.
Personally that's already how I cross the street, and my confidence in human drivers isn't anywhere near so great.
Yes. And as a pedestrian, I would expect cars to slow down somewhat in advance when I would cross the street like that. That didn't even happen. Even if the car would brake in time, it would still be scary as hell compared to the same situation with real human drivers.
All the cars around you will see you before you get anywhere near the road. As long as you approach the road to cross, perhaps as you've always done, you'll be granted access to cross with little fear.
I'll take the open street any day. Zombie pedestrians, head down in phone, step off the curb and into the protected lane thinking that they can get 1/5 of the way across the street without looking up. Oncoming auto traffic reduces this likelihood significantly, but disturbingly, not completely.
If you learn the traffic pattern of your route, you can reduce your concern primarily to red light runners.
You have to cross roads. You do so with care. I hike--and that means at times I end up walking along roads with no sidewalk and where most drivers are not expecting pedestrians. I take the working assumption that drivers will not see me, safety only comes from getting away from the road when there's a car about.
Absolutely, where I live pedestrians have right of way at all intersections, which includes some pretty busy wide roads the drivers think they own. When I'm crossing I don't stop at the curb and wait for it to clear, I'll enter the first safe lane, usually the parking lane.
Sometimes I'll do a big exaggerated step showing drivers that I do not intended to stop, unless they choose to kill me. I won't actually step into a lane when a driver might not have seen me so I feel safe doing it, but it breaks drivers expectations that they own the road.
As a pedestrian I often use eye contact for the opposite reason: a multi-way stop where I’m worried if I cross I’ll end up pissing off several cars, and despite that they’re all being too polite and won’t just go, even though it would be fastest and safest for us all.
So what do I do? Get to the corner and stubbornly refuse to look up at any of the cars, and don’t really face my body toward any possible crossing. Not being able to wave me on (I’ve always found being waved in front of a motor vehicle somewhat menacing, tbh), the drivers quickly clear the four-way stop and I can cross without worrying about causing a jam.
Anyways, the AI will have a lot to learn of the crazy habits people build to keep from being lawfully murdered because “but cars”.
As a pedestrian, I've often thought that. There are no cars coming (in the direction that has the right of way), but if I wait, the cars waiting to turn might not yield to me.
My threshold for cars entering my personal space is clearly different than drivers. I've had drivers accelerate toward me and pass me with 1-2' of space. Way too close.
My rule, as a driver is simple: never accelerate toward a pedestrian. That means I have to stay on the break until they are not in front of me.
The law, btw, says that you can't go into the crosswalk until the pedestrian is has made it onto the sidewalk. At least, in CA that is the law. I was warned once, by a LEO about this.
By choosing not to drive and being vigilant while crossing the street, you definitely reduce your cross-section (although drivers do plow into pedestrians every once in a while)
For some reason I'm imagining the worst-case scenario of a pedestrian completely oblivious to what's going on around them and just crossing without looking on a busy street, which I realize is pretty unlikely.
I don't disagree but I also know who's going to "win" in a collision between me and a car.
When I cross a street I have my head on a swivel and I do not step into the crosswalk unless I have the "walk" light and the cross-traffic is already stopped, or far enough away that they have room to stop. I try to make eye contact with drivers so I can be (more) sure they see me. Or if there is not a signal at the crosswalk I wait until there is a big enough gap that I won't be causing approaching drivers to stand on their brakes to stop for me.
And with all that I still assume that the approaching cars do not see me and am prepared to break into a sprint if needed to get out of the way.
Not at all. You are creating the dangerous situation in the first place. If you weren't driving, people could run across the road without fear of getting hit by you.
I've never assumed cars will stop for me if I step into a crosswalk, nor do I ever assume they see me.
I simply wait on the edge until the cars stop. If they are stopped, it prevents cars further back from going into the crosswalk.
It works better than anything else. After all, if I get hit, I get hurt, even if I'm legally in the right. People who blithely step into a crosswalk and assume cars will see and stop are fools.
And even then, you have to be careful of the cars behind them. Was crossing at a cross walk once- the first car stopped to let me cross- the car behind them swerved around them and blew through the cross walk- at about the time I would have been there, had I not been paying close attention and stopped!
Personally that's already how I cross the street, and my confidence in human drivers isn't anywhere near so great.
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