crossing the road

As you may or may not have heard, New York has a lot of people and a lot of cars, all cramming themselves into the same tiny bit of land called Manhattan Island. To manage these competing interests, there are lights that tell cars to stop or go, and lights to tell people to stop or go..the problem is, the lights don't always agree. Most of the junctions are t-junctions because avenues in New York run north-south and streets run east-west, in a grid. The problem is when your walking up a large avenue that runs north-south. If you approach an intersecting east-west street your crossing sign may have a 'man' that is lit up in white light and shows a walking stance. This means it's now safe to walk...but the car coming down that north-south avenue (on the right hand side of the road obviously) also has a green light, and may freely turn right....and into the street you're meant to be crossing safely! What happens is that, as the car approachs the crossing they make the same necessary reduction in speed that they would anyway, and the rule is that cars may proceed if the crossing is clear. Of course, for someone from England to see a car not stopping, but swinging around the corner toward you, you stop - they don't give way in the UK (sounds like a rhyming motto, huh?). For the first two weeks, I kept stopping, cautious, thinking 'why on earth is that guy coming toward me?!' And I was also confused, cause the light was telling me to walk - in front of that! But anyway, the drivers are actually quite well trained here, and surprisingly willing to stop...so much so, that when the white 'walk' light comes on I now cross without looking. And I also cross without looking when the man goes to a red hand that flashes - the equivalent of an orange light. And I also cross without looking when the hand stops flashing - a red light. It just seems to me that cars are so willing to stop, that it's so easy for everyone to just cross, often without looking. That's how you can tell a real New Yorker. And people never run. In England, one often jogs a little to get out the way. Not here. People just slowly amble across, not caring whether the car has to wait or not. Brilliant.