The zebra path. What a hassle. But it’s simple: Look for the zebra, walk over there. Look at the driver, wait for him to stop, and cross. If you’re driving, it’s the place to stop and let other people cross. It is, after all, a two way street.
In China they have zebras in many places. I’d estimate 15% of the people are aware of them, despite the blue sign by each one, reminding drivers to yield. Most drivers are too busy on their cell phones to read the signs. There are precious few, if any, breaks in the oncoming traffic. It’s up to the walker to risk his life; it’s up to the driver not to kill anyone. It is again, after all, a two way street.
How many Czech drivers obey the law: stop and let people cross the street? If you’re a cynic, you’d guess not many. Wrong; they’re very good in fact, at least as far as yielding for street-crossers. I’d say equal or better than Americans. In China every crossing is a sport that you have to be conditioned for. Everyone there knows how it works: people are the lowest form of life on the roads. For me it was unnecessarily stressful but at least I was usually on a bike. Chinese people are so conditioned that any time something unexpected happens (i.e. giving them right of way), they freeze. These frightened pedestrians who, instead of moving forward and letting me go around them, will stop cold or even retreat. I hit 2 or 3 people with my bike over 8 months. They weren’t surprised nor angry. They were grateful to be unhurt.
By the way Czechs take more dangerous risks, drive more like maniacs than Chinese. Chinese are too chicken for that. But I’ve noticed a rise in the number of local drivers who look out for zebras and respect them. Just wanted to say I appreciate that.