Being neither young nor old, I see terrible driving from both ends. Elderly drivers calmly driving along in the middle of the road, pulling out into oncoming without so much as a turn of the head, failing to give way at roundabouts and junctions. At least doing all these things at twenty miles an hour, gives others time to brake for them I suppose...

I'll confess to crossing very busy roads in the style Anne describes. The reason for making eye contact, is to ensure that the driver has seen you, and also has plenty of time to slow a little so you can cross.

Thing is, majority of motorists will leave a pedestrian standing at the roadside forever, so one is forced to be assertive sometimes. Though I do only do it when I know the driver has seen me, and s/he has plenty of time to slow up enough.

What I DON'T do is suddenly leap into the road, and then slowly limp the rest of the way.