As ealexhudson says here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7975422 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7975422 , the difference is that in the UK, when you

As ealexhudson says here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7975422 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7975422 , the difference is that in the UK, when you have a 'green man', there is a guarantee that traffic are not permitted to use any piece of road you are crossing. I was describing the crossroads situation where all vehicles are allowed to travel in any direction when they have a green light (no filter light/lanes), as this is the most commonly occurring situation in towns in the US I think. Not including states where there is a propensity for 'no left turn' intersections. In the US, this would mean two phases, with each one being a shared pedestrian and vehicle phase, pedestrians crossing in parallel to traffic. In the UK this would be three phases, two traffic and one dedicated pedestrian phase. I personally prefer the UK system, as in the US as a pedestrian you are at the whim of drivers paying attention to pedestrian traffic, and even if they don't hit you they may well start turning the corner to pressure you to hurry up.