I was going to 'like' your post, but it seems the 'like' button has gone missing?? Odd that... and yes, "Be careful if you do" is a philosophy for survival.

...and pedestrians who don't live in Seattle or places that share similar driving customs/expectations shouldn't expect moving cars to give up right of way and come to a stop to allow them to cross at unmarked intersections, the motorist is likely to get rear-ended and/or the pedestrian may get a surprise by another motorist not expecting such behavior from an unnecessarily gracious driver; similar to dangerous situations that can be expected when "polite" motorists give up right of way and stop in traffic to allow a bicyclist to cross the road.

I have lived all over the US. Everyone is expected to yield to pedestrians, and anyone thar rear ends a car for any reason is to blame for following too close.

Yielding to pedestrians who are actively crossing the street is one thing, expecting moving traffic to come to a stop for people who are standing on the sidewalk or near the street in case they might be thinking of crossing the street is another.

Car drivers who unexpectedly and sudden stop in a traffic lane in the front of flowing traffic can expect to be rear ended, and might be shocked, shocked to learn that they might share financial/legal responsibility for the consequences of their gratuitous "courtesy" stop. Even if they can pass some or all of the blame and costs for a collision that resulted from their own misguided action on the other vehicle operator, they will not be able to pass on the physical pain suffered and/or inconvenience of their damaged vehicle.

Do you drive a car?

It doesn't matter if the car ahead of you is stopping for a pedestrian in the street or on the curb, or for a squirrel. If there is stopped car in front of you, you also stop so you don't have a car accident. "Well officer, I couldn't conceive of why the car was stopped. So I decided it was not real stop and kept going."

Let's get serious.

I'm done wasting electrons pointing out reality to someone who believes his "expectations" of traffic driving behavior and novel interpretation of some sort of universal traffic law requiring motorists to stop in the vicinity of a pedestrian no matter where the motorist (or the pedestrian) happen to be are a basis for anyone to safely cope with traffic.

I'm done listening to you talk about motorists as if they are telepathic. Drivers stop because the car ahead of them has stopped.

Just today I experienced a 'nicehole' & resumed waiting for the light to legally enable proceeding with caution. Too much traffic to take on someone's perceived kind gesture. If it weren't for the traffic & was only the single vehicle waiting on there green, then I'd reconsidered waiting it out.

Like engineered things, not all goes as planned when factoring in reality.

The "like" button is now in the lower left of every post. You'll see a little box with a number, click on it to "like" posts.