[aidenn0]

I remember reading a "Things that were different about America" by a Japanese visitor, and they said that everyone in the US seemed to wait for the lights to cross at crosswalks, while in Japan people just crossed whenever. It probably depends on where in Japan and where in the US you are.

DC is one of the worst; it sometimes feels like the pedestrians and cars are in competition with each other, and each just violate the rules because there's zero expectation that the other will follow the rules.

[byw]

When was the book published?

I've seen older footages of Tokyo (1960s) where the streets were pretty chaotic and dirty. Also Miyazaki described how the rivers used to be very polluted, which inspired the bath scene in Spirited Away. Not sure at what point it changed.

Also remember Americans telling me Seoul being dirty in the 80s, but is generally cleaner than western cities these days.

[aidenn0]

About 20 years ago I think?

[ghaff]

See also NYC (or at least Manhattan which I'm most familiar with). Both vehicles and pedestrians take an inch wherever they can get it.

The West Coast at least used to be more rule-abiding. Many years ago now, I remember a co-worker complaining he had gotten a ticket for jaywalking in San Francisco I think. Of course, these days you probably need to murder someone to get the police involved in SF but I digress.

And when I worked in a smaller city fairly near Boston, when going out to lunch, I was pretty much the only person who was inclined to just cross the street while my coworkers waited for the light.

So it does vary.

[BoorishBears]

I'm convinced pedestrian safety and rush hour traffic would both improve at minimal cost if people just learned to respect simple Walk/Don't Walk signals, but yes, no one wants to give an inch.

[ghaff]

Yeah, although at busy intersections, it can be really hard for vehicles to make right hand turns even if everyone does things by the book. And this isn't some special pleading for vehicles in Manhattan; I will only drive there under duress.

[BoorishBears]

The biggest rule that would make right hand turns safer and quicker for everyone involved is if people respected "Flashing red hand means don't start crossing. If you're not already in the crosswalk, don't start now."

That would give people way more time to clear out the right turn lane each cycle and reduce incidences of people trying to force their way through pedestrians.

But people don't even respect the basic "don't walk" so it's asking a lot...