I have a certain viewpoint on them that most people don't seem to agree with. I think that, in general, Pedestrians should NOT have the right of way. Now, when the number of pedestrians trying to cross a street is comparable to the number of cars driving on it, this is one thing, and in this case, I can see that maybe pedestrians should have the right of way, but I'm talking about most of the time, when there are 50 times more cars than people. There are a number of reason why I think that cars should have the right of way.
First of all, there are more cars than people. Why should 50 people have to slow down and waste 30 seconds of their lives when one person (the pedestrian) could wait till the traffic passes or go to an intersection and wait till the light turns green? Cars are bigger and it takes more energy for them to stop and start than for a person. Giving cars the right of way will save gas.
Giving pedestrians the right of way gives them a false sense of security. They think that if they step into the street, regardless of the circumstance, then all the cars will magically stop. Even at a crosswalk, this is not the case. If the cars have a red light stopping them this is one thing, but otherwise, the car will tend to keep going. There are a number of reasons why the car won't stop. The driver might not see the pedestrian. The sun might be in his eyes, he might have bad eyesight, he might be drunk, he might be changing the radio station in the car or telling someone in the back seat to stop criticizing his driving. The line of the sight to the pedestrian may be blocked by another car until it is too late.
People should be encouraged to cross the street AT THEIR OWN RISK. I don't think it should be illegal for people to J-walk. But if they J-walk and get hit by a car, well, I just don't think they should be able to sue the driver and all that. At least not under my set of laws, because under my set of laws, the pedestrian would NEVER have the right of way unless the cars have a red light. Ideally, people would only cross the street if they could make it across without impeding the flow of traffic. No one would have any problems. But this is in my ideal world.
In the real world, nothing will likely change. But it's sad. Everyday people get hit by cars. If people didn't try to cross the street when the couldn't make it, this would not happen. I remember reading in the paper about a family trying to cross the street. A car in the lane of traffic nearest to them stopped to let them cross, as the law dictates that he should. The car behind him didn't see the pedestrians and probably was pretty pissed off that the guy in front of him was slowing down for no reason. So, he changed lanes and kept driving, and ended up hitting and killing some of the family members crossing the street. They had a false sense of security. If the first driver had disobeyed the law and no stopped, the pedestrians would probably still be alive today.