If you are required by law to stop for them once they are in the crosswalk then cars should expect to find people stopped some of the time and stop themselves.
If nobody expects to stop then pedestrians either must always wait for a big enough gap that they hope to cross unimpeded or step out knowing you are coming to force you to stop. The first is frequently impossible and the second is dangerous. It also creates the "dangerous" situation of having a car stopped at an intersection.
Older folks especially likely to have a hard time doing A or B due to decreasing mobility and vision. Personally I think if you can't handle such a scenario safely you have no business being in charge of a car.
I don't disagree but I also know who's going to "win" in a collision between me and a car.
When I cross a street I have my head on a swivel and I do not step into the crosswalk unless I have the "walk" light and the cross-traffic is already stopped, or far enough away that they have room to stop. I try to make eye contact with drivers so I can be (more) sure they see me. Or if there is not a signal at the crosswalk I wait until there is a big enough gap that I won't be causing approaching drivers to stand on their brakes to stop for me.
And with all that I still assume that the approaching cars do not see me and am prepared to break into a sprint if needed to get out of the way.
If nobody expects to stop then pedestrians either must always wait for a big enough gap that they hope to cross unimpeded or step out knowing you are coming to force you to stop. The first is frequently impossible and the second is dangerous. It also creates the "dangerous" situation of having a car stopped at an intersection.
Older folks especially likely to have a hard time doing A or B due to decreasing mobility and vision. Personally I think if you can't handle such a scenario safely you have no business being in charge of a car.