redblack
celeste: headlights are easy to check/replace, and you can usually see how good or bad they are by pointing them at a wall. aiming instructions are available on the internet, and only require the use of a screwdriver and level pavement 10′ in front of a wall or garage door.
it’s the brake lights that need to be checked. if yours are out, how do you know until another person sees them not working? you could try to put a weight on the pedal, but you need a concrete block or something similarly heavy.
having a small car, i use the chrome bumpers of SUV’s and work trucks as mirrors, and when they pull up behind me, i look in my rearview mirror to make sure my tail lights, brake lights, and license plate lights are on.
i also try to tell other drivers if they have rear lights out, but they usually think i’m asking them for money or trying to do something nefarious.
regarding crosswalks, while it’s the law that drivers have to stop once a ped steps off of the curb, i don’t do anything that puts my safety at the mercy of a moving car.
this includes standing too close to the curb whilewaiting for a walk signal. i think people stand or walk too close to traffic. whether they’re defying cars to hit them or just plain oblivious, they’re leaving themselves open to misery.