Crossing the street: steady pace, no eye contact needed

The traffic isn’t chaos — it’s a flow that parts around a predictable object. Your job is to be predictable. This is the one entry in the guide that saves skin rather than money, and the whole technique fits in one sentence: walk at a constant speed and let the riders do the math.

The play:

1. Step off and walk at one constant, unhurried speed. Riders read your trajectory and steer around you.
2. Never freeze, never sprint. A sudden change of pace is what actually causes collisions — motorbikes have already planned their path around where you’re going to be.
3. Raise an arm as you cross if it helps you feel visible; it signals without changing your speed.
4. Recalibrate the honking: it means “I see you,” an acknowledgement, not aggression.
5. First day in the country? Stand beside a local and cross when they cross. Shadowing is the fastest lesson the city offers.

Price anchor: free, as of mid-2026 — the one technique in this guide whose entire cost is nerve.

Verified: sources (2024–2026), 2026-07.