so here's a rant...

See this?

This is a stop sign. See the big white letters? S-T-O-P. That spells stop.
This is not a slow down a little bit sign.
This is not a slightly decelerate and then speed back up when you see that there are no pedestrians sign.
This is also not a slow down as long as the pedestrians are in the opposite side of the crosswalk sign.
This is actually a sign that indicates that you must halt your vehicle's motion.
Not only must you stop your vehicle, you have to stay stopped until the pedestrians leave the crosswalk. Not just until they've crossed into the other half of the crosswalk.
Stopping. It's a good thing.