Giving the pedestrian right of way is the law in almost every state/jurisdiction.. But in several east cost cities, notable, Boston and NY, it is almost never adhered to.
In NY (I haven't spent enough time in Boston to know that it true there, but I suspect it is..) Both pedestrians and vehicles operate on the idea of "never yield" You might thing that a 3000 pound automobile or 10,000 pound truck is always going to win.. But the masses of pedestrians in both cities changes the odds.. And traffic lights, double parked cars other things slow vehicular traffic down, so, it easier for pedestrians to dart between the cars.
Rudy–(NY Mayor) has tried to enforce no jaywalking.. And in spite of occasionally handing out $50 fines, there has not been much success.. The cops don't want to write the tickets, and no one really wants thing to change..
In some cities, (i.e. Pittsburgh) when you step off the curb, traffic grinds to a halt.. very strange! and in California and Washington (state) traffic will also halt, but cops will give you ticket, on the spot.. And a talking to...
Londoners jay walk too, but not like NY'ers– Italians are like NY'ers. The Japanese are much more like Californians..
