As a pedestrian it amazes me the amount of cars in LA that do not yield to pedestrians! Almost daily, I have an interaction with a car that acts like they have the right away to make a right on red over my ability to cross the street when the sign is lit up that it is okay to cross.

When I lived in NYC there were signs that read, "don't block the box." This slogan completely stuck in my mind. If a car is in any of the crosswalks of an intersection after the light changed, there was a hefty fine.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/city-wants-higher-fines-for-blocking-the-box/ Right now, obstructing traffic at intersections is a moving violation that costs drivers $90 and results in two points on a driver’s license, and tickets can, in most cases, only be given out by police officers. The City Council overwhelmingly passed a resolution on Thursday in support of a state bill that would reclassify the offense as a parking violation, with a fine of a $115, but no points. The tickets could be issued, fairly quickly, by the city’s 2,800 traffic enforcement agents, who also work for the Police Department but have different authority than police officers.