Do people in the US just walk in the middle of the road ?

I know some people think this is a silly question but the answer is, in my experience, yes. That's both in urban and exurban environments, in my experience.

For that they first would need to walk ...

Not usually, but sometimes cars drive too close to the edge of the road, and the road has no sidewalk.

And despite good advice (or simply due to a momentary circumstance), some people walk at night with dark clothing. You can turn a corner a hit a person very easily if they are in any half of your side of the street.

Depends on the road. My neighborhood has no sidewalks. I prefer it. Prevents the cars from acting like they own the place.

The critical question is, do people in the US just drive on the sidewalks?

(It's impossible to walk on sidewalks in a city without crossing streets every block, and that's where car/pedestrian conflicts occur)

> do people in the US just drive on the sidewalks?

I think you must first ask, "What percentage of roads in the US have sidewalks?" It's nowhere close to 100%.

estimate for me, is it closer to 20, I really dont know.

I live in a small village in the US, pop. ~1,000. I'd guess that less than half the streets within village limits have sidewalks.

And of course outside the village it's miles and miles of fields and forests with none.

Urban life is very different from rural.

Street lights aren't just important for cars? Imagine being a woman walking around a city at night in the dark by yourself