> It irritates me when people press the crosswalk button on quiet roads (where most of the time there is nothing coming, so you can just cross) before they have even looked to see if anything is coming.

Since you're comfortable asking pedestrians to jaywalk across the street if it looks clear, maybe you should also get comfortable with simply running the red lights on these quiet roads, since nothing is coming. At least in your case, you have a giant machine with airbags to protect you if you make a mistake.