Dont you do it.

It's like when people press the elevator button constantly. I promise them, it won't be coming any more quickly. I guess they think they can impose their will and determination on the crosswalk signs.

Oh I'm so with you on this!! Gosh when I lived in the city - a long time ago, and had to drive around, people would push the cross walk when it was okay for them to go and we had to wait a bit longer just for the time of the cross walk to end and the person has long gone past. I hated living in the city and am in the country and loving it.

I do not believe those stupid buttons work, it is there for someone to push and take your mind off the fact that you have to stand there and wait for the light to change. Like they are really going to install a working button to stop the flow of traffic just so someone can cross the street. I DON'T THINK SO!

hahaha! people DO do that! i was quite the pedestrian in college, walked everywhere, but i would only push the button at certain intersections, and ONLY if i was the only or first person there. i hated when there was a group of us there, waiting, and each new person comes up and pushes it, i mean, it's already been pushed, LEAVE IT ALONE already, you won't hurry it along....

I'm not sure it's always a matter of trying to speed up the response. Think about this - you create an action. In your mind you have a time limit to receive the reaction. When there isn't a reaction in that time you allotted, you presume your initial action was not received and thus you perform the action again. Like ringing the doorbell. If you don't hear nor see anyone responding in said time, you push it again, thinking that no one heard it. But in fact they did hear it but didn't immediately drop everything and rush to the door. I think it is the same thinking when it comes to crosswalk and elevator buttons. We presume our request was not received.

I would say it is because us humans are an impatient species and want things to go faster. It is rather selfish to live this way as it is not really living at all. I like the slower paced lifestyle, where I can see the smaller things that others miss out on, like the birds and butterflies in our backyard. Yup, humans really are self centred (generalisation) and will be the cause of our own extinction.

I've noticed that most crosswalks buttons do not change the lights, nor do they make them change any faster. What they do, do however, is make the lights on the opposite direction of the way you are crossing stay red longer, which gives you enough time to cross the street when the lights actually change. That is their main purpose, slowing the lights down... not speeding them up.

Kio, here's why they don't work. Cars have got to get where they are going, and they can't be bothered with pedestrians desperately trying to cross a 4, 5, 6 lane walk. But in reality you are supposed to hit the button to get the walk signal, plus drivers are supposed to take note that pedestrians are around (though many don't -_-)