I Stateside is ok for certain things but pedestrian safety isn't one. I spent a few weeks up north, crossed into BC and walked in a couple big towns and smaller cities. When it comes to traffic lights, this is what I noticed in general:
Up in BC, a yellow light normally means "I'm stopping for you pedestrians". In Phoenix, that's when you hear the tranny downshift and drop a couple gears as the car pegs the rpm limiter...
Red there is no fool in', you've stopped. Red in Phoenix just means count to 5 (cars, pickups and semis going by) then hope you can get across.
Pushing the crossing button up there usually means the signal will change pretty quickly, like within about 15-20 seconds, even if it's a main road. In Phoenix, I timed it once, took almost 3 minutes to change, and that's with cross traffic waiting as well.
This was with the run of the mill pedestrian in the crosswalk, not just Dusty. I'd expect that people would stop due to the front end damage their vehicle would sustain if they hit me. Not too many want their ride totaled.
"I knew I should have stopped for Dusty"
