Comment by ovatsug25

I think a big part of this is momentum. When the majority of people were excited about cars and saw them as newer and better than bicycles, you would get treated like shit. See most US cities. When the majority of people begins to understand that cars weren't the panacea they were expecting, then you might get more respectful behavior like that in the Netherlands. Here in the Dominican Republic being a pedestrian is "for the poor." Cars rush towards you—and you either get out of the way or join the roadkill. So what happens if you turn off the traffic lights? Depends whether people cared about them and safety to begin with.