Run Baby Run

[Listening to: Roy Orbison - John Peel Peelenium - Running Scared]

Apparently London is to get a countdown clock on road crossings to impress on late crossers: 
Pedestrians to be given road crossing countdown under Boris Johnson plans
I remember in Spain that I was impressed that the road crossings had a countdown, very handy. In Cambodia the little green man broke into a trot with 10" to go, then began to sprint when the clock had 5" left. Very motivating, especially when the traffic is as mad as it was in Phnom Penh.

There is a big difference between the behaviour of pedestrians in Rome and Milan. In Milan, everyone waits patiently on the pavement, and crosses when the lights go green. In Rome, almost everyone stand in the road, reducing the width of the road for the cars, and obviously putting themselves at risk, but what the heck. The strange part is that when the lights change, they almost all walk at a funereal pace. It begs the question, why on earth not stop just 1-metre back and let the cars pass, as you're obviously not in a rush?

Good move Boris. Do you fancy becoming Mayor of Rome?

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