People who cross the street when they have a red Do Not Walk sign and cars have the green turning light...?

First of all, if this issue is the most important thing that bothers you, I'd say you have a pretty good life. Having said that, you just need to accept that a lot of pedestrians don't really obey signs or lights wherever they go - unless they see a cop around.

I think the NYPD has cracked down hard on peds who jaywalk or walk thru red lights. But, still, too many folks just think that waiting for a green light or white pedestrian 'ok to walk' signal makes them look like a rube, or perhaps they are subject to an entirely different set of laws than the rest of us.

In any case, I try to obey the pedestrian signals wherever possible, especially in heavy traffic situations - I enjoy having both legs and arms working for a long time. But I know that I have crossed against a red signal or don't walk sign if there are no cars around - it seems pointless to wait, and wait, and wait, especially if I have checked both directions and there are no cars and no cops.

I'm not going to let recalcitrant pedestrians bother me - I figure we all have better things to do. The main thing is to be extra careful around pedestrians because 1) they are unpredictable, and 2) they don't fare too well in a collision with a car.

Have a good day.

I work in NYC and I have to honestly say... I look more at the traffic than I do at the lights.

People walk when they don't have a signal... but drivers behave just as badly. They make a right turn and don't yield to pedestrians that have a walk signal. I constantly see cars skid across the intersections although they had a red light already.

The only safe way you can walk across a street in the City is by looking if there's a car coming and then going.

The general rule is: Cross when you can, but don't make the cars slow down or stop for you - unless your light gives you the right to!

Unluckily, there's plenty of idiots out there that will just walk whenever they think it's right - with no regard to traffic patterns or anything. And those are usually the people that get hit...

or some poor person who thought they had a walk signal and got hit by a driver disobeying the signals and not paying attention.

So here's how I walk: I get to a crossing, look if there are cars coming, gauge how long they'll take to get to my intersection and if my way is clear, I walk. If I have a walk signal - even better! But I never rely on it.

I've gotten run over by a bike courier that was going the wrong way down a one-way street while I had a walk signal...

That's New York City for you ;)

Each state has their own traffic regulations, and there are many differences, such as even being allowed to turn right against a red light. Same is true for driving over a marked crosswalk in particular situations.

I can, only, address my response based on California Motor Vehicle Code. At an intersection, pedestrians have the "right of way," and, there is ALWAYS a presumed crosswalk (zebra crossing), whether marked, or not. The electronic "walk" or "don't walk" signal does not carry the force of law behind it. There is NO LAW that says a pedestrian may not cross on a red light. (most people are quite surprised when I point that out in a copy of the vehicle code)

This means that the ultimate, LEGAL, responsibility to avoid striking a pedestrian rests with the drivers of motor vehicles. So, the "walk" signal is meaningless, whether or not there is a pedestrian present. It is up to the witnessing officer to determine if a driver is not, properly, yeilding the right of way to the crossing pedestrian. I have seen citations issued to drivers turning right on an eight lane intersection, even though the pedestrian had JUST stepped off the curb on the OTHER side of the street. I have seen citations issued to drivers for not yeilding to people waiting for a bus, because the pedestrian MIGHT have decided to cross. On the other hand, I have seen pedestrians stranded on center dividers while cars zipped right by with apparent immunity.

When it comes time to actual prosecution of right of way violators, people have to remember what "right of way" actually means. The law defines it as describing which entity must YEILD the right of way, NOT which one has the right to any particular piece of the roadway. NO ONE has the right to place himself in front of a moving vehicle, until that vehicle has YEILDED.

Since I am well aware that more than half of pedestrians hit by cars are at fault for the accident, I try to avoid jumping in front of traffic with the right of way. It isn't just the pedestrians who are that dumb (here in DC), I don't know how many people make an illegal left without checking to see that the crosswalk they are about to go through has people in it--so they end up sitting in the middle of the intersection looking dumb.

I look at the lights and the intersection. If I can cross without getting in the way of a car with right of way, I'll cross on red. But if I can't, I'm not obnoxious or dumb enough to jump in front of a car that has the light and figure he'll stop--not only is it rude, it's dumb--if he hits me, the doctor bills are still mine!

To be honest, I don't always follow the signs (for example if there isn't any traffic), but for the most part I will.

The reason most people don't obey the signs, is because they're in a hurry and could care less about traffic. As a native NY'er you know this. ANother reason, is NYC is full of immigrants (both legal and illegal) and a great many of them do not understand traffic signals.

Unfortunately, the law is almost always in favor of the pedestrian. There is a "catch-all" generic violation for driveres called "Failed to Exercise Due Care" which pretty much means if a pedestrain just doesn't dart out into traffic, that you as a driver are required to automatically yield to them.

This unfortunately leads to a great many accidents involving pedestrians, and a lot of them result in death.

I understand what you're saying, but in NYC, that's just the way it is. Pedestrians will run across the street when they think it's safe and most don't even look for the red or green sign.

In other cities I've noticed that people will pay attention to it.

We are supposed to yield the pedestrians at all cross street. I know people at the big cities don't follow the light sign.

State by state these simple rules apply. Right on red ( unless specified by a sign that you cannot ). The ONLY time that you can turn left on red is one way onto a one way. For instance, if you are on a one way road facing north at a stop light, and road in front of you is one way traveling west ( right to left ), you may turn on red from the left lane if traffic is clear. I actually got pulled over for that one, and told the cop to go back to his car and look it up, cause I knew I was right. When he came back all I got was "Get out of here". Good luck to you.

I agree with you. It is frustrating and downright IGNORANT of pedestrians who ignore the lights. Driving around NYC, I've resorted to blowing the horn at intersections where the never ending flow of morons never stops for any light. Short of having police performing crowd control at every busy intersection, what else can you do? That's why cars, truck, buses and motorcycles have horns! They usually work too.

I have heard from friends who moved here from NYC that EVERYONE ignores the rules and laws there, so the pedestrians aren't all alone.