Your job as a driver is to see me. I'll go ahead and start crossing with enough time to stop if you keep ignoring me, and one of two things will happen: either you'll see me and brake, or you won't see me and I will stop, but it'll be clear to all involved that what just happened is wrong. This way, you know you're being an inattentive dick by not seeing me in time, and I'll stay safe and alive.

These kinds of handy one-liners and behaviour patterns are a big part of the problem. I shouldn't have to make eye contact with you, relying on you being semi-awake and not having illegal levels of windshield tint. Screw that, pay attention.

While you’re not wrong, being absolutely in the right won’t save your life when they do fuck up.

Right? Even when you remove selfish and inattentive drivers from the equation, you still have a human behind the wheel of the remaining vehicles. Those humans may be subject to things beyond their control such as glare, a sudden mechanical issue, a sneeze, or will simply make a mistake an humans are prone to doing. As a pedestrian we can’t blindly place responsibility for our own safety solely in the hands of the driver. It is still a shared responsibility.

When they do fuck up, what will save my life is the fact that I accounted for this ahead of time and left enough space/time to react to it and not die. Really, my original comment covers that.

That doesn't work anymore. Due to steeply sloped windshields and tinted windows, a pedestrian usually will only see a reflection of the bright sky, not the driver.

Practically yes, in the sense that not getting run over is a high priority. However, we should repeat that it is the drivers’ responsibility to be alert. That pedestrians have to take this sort of measure is a general failure on the part of our driving culture.

And are the only ones incentivized to, given the asymmetric danger between driving and walking. Drivers would be a lot more cautious with big spike in the middle of their steering wheel. Externalized risk (and unlikelihood of facing consequences if a driver were to maim or kill someone) has a very predictable outcome.

I’ve lived in places where crossing areas have little buttons that set of flashers, but really it would be safer and put the responsibility where it belongs if that button would shoot a bollard post up in front of the crosswalk.

This is difficult sometimes due to the extreme window tints many people have, especially in warmer climates.

Literally what I was told in driving school, and as a kid in school before.

Prostrate yourself in front of the tank drivers that they may show you mercy

Literally impossible for many people due to height/tinting of people and cars.