[thaumasiotes]

> This is fine on quiet roads, but doesn't work in busy cities.

I guess I can claim to have lived in Shanghai for a span of (not many) years, and I have to dispute this. People will just walk out into the middle of a busy street, making lane-by-lane progress much like Frogger if they have to. They do it because the only real alternative is not crossing the street at all. When I was working at an international school here, it was common (and, in my view, completely justified) for new arrivals to want help crossing the street. But the fatality rate is quite low. ;)