When I'm crossing a busy street on foot, or anyway when I'm in some way jaywalking, I invariably stop in mid-street and put my feet right next to each other. I imagine that this signals to drivers that I'm not going to lurch out in front of them. I don't know if anyone actually gets this message or not, but anyway no one has ever run me down, so there's that.
I don't think I've seen other people do this, but then most people inclined to jaywalk don't stop at all, just relying on providence or the kindness of others that the cars will stop, slow or change lanes. I'm not sure why I do it nor when I started. I'm wild guessing to be polite and Philadelphia, where there are a lot more busy streets to cross, respectively. Funny thing is that telling it like this, I feel ridiculous thinking that anybody on the road might care whether a pedestrian signals his intention to stay still by keeping his feet together. But I don't think I could stop doing it if I tried. For some crazy reason it makes me feel safer. One of those rituals nobody teaches you, I guess.
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