It might be more to do with stop signs, driver training/tests and poor visibility. SF has lots of stop signs, technically a pedestrian barely has to look. And

It might be more to do with stop signs, driver training/tests and poor visibility. SF has lots of stop signs, technically a pedestrian barely has to look. And cars don't expect there to be pedestrians. (Generally, they are so annoying drivers have little respect for full stop signs, and speed up aggressively) Also the US has notoriously poor driver training and tests. I failed my driver license tests twice in Denmark because for failure turn my head and look out for pedestrians I knew weren't there :) (It teaches drivers when and where to look). SF also has a habit of allowing street parking really close to intersections. In general street parking is bad for visibility as drivers can't see pedestrians. But in particular around intersections in SF you frequently aren't visible as a pedestrian waiting to cross. Anyways, that's what I felt was sketchy about traffic living in SF. In Denmark I do lots of left turns and pedestrians isn't an issue, probably because I know they have a green light. And I've been taught to look out.