So I recently moved back to my country after living abroad for a few years and I am struggling to adjust to the unlaid rules of driving here. Yesterday I was driving home during peak office hours and the traffic was a nightmare as usual with no lane sense. I approached a major intersection that has a very clearly marked pedestrian zebra crossing. The light was red for me and threre was also a massive sign right before the stripes that says *STOP FOR PEDESTRIANS* (in both English and Local language). Now here is the thing. There was no one currently on the road but there were a few people standing on the pavement looking like they were waiting for a gap to squeeze through. Out of my actual driving instincts and law I slowed down and came to a full stop before the line to give them a chance to cross and dipped the lights (I know how difficult it is to cross the road in this country in a tier 1 city).
The moment my wheels stopped the world ended. The guy in the car behind me started honking on his horn like his life depended on it. Then a biker swerved around me and slowed down just to glare into my window and yell something. Even the people on the pavement, the ones I was stopping for, looked at me like I was a total idiot. One guy from pedestrians actually waved his hand at me to go like I was blocking his view. I stayed stopped for about five seconds. In that time I counted three people in my rearview mirror giving me mocking expressions. Eventually I just drove off because the pressure was insane.
When I got home and told my brother he laughed at me. He said I am being an over intellectual and that stopping when the road is clear is actually more dangerous because it people end up in rear-end accidents and breaks the flow of traffic. He says I am the a’hole for trying to follow rules in a place where they do not apply and just causing more frustration for everyone else. AITA for being considerate and stopping to let people cross the road?