Sorry, I guess I should have more specific - if it’s a signalled pedestrian crossing, of course the signals need to be followed. I was wondering in the context of a crossing that only has markings, but no signals.
I remember in NJ USA as a kid being told that cars didn’t have to stop at zebra crossings. I don’t know if it was true, I wasn’t skeptically investigating things when I was 7.
The best I could find was this blog talking about how the rules say they should stop, but they frequently don’t: https://www.expataussieinnj.com/understanding-road-rules-for-pedestrians-in-nj/
So maybe the rules are one way, but the locals don’t follow it so you can’t treat the rule as being in place.
It looks like it changed last year, but the UK. The law was previously that pedestrians in a crosswalk should wait until it was clear to start crossing, as opposed to cars should stop if someone is waiting to cross.