Can anyone explain why it is that people waiting at the corner stand so far back from the curb? Is it just a thing in my neck of the woods? 

Every morning I get to the corner across from my building, and there's a bunch of people standing 3 or 4 feet away from the crosswalk. And I routinely just plow on through and stand right on the corner.

The only explanation I can think of is that people are afraid a car will veer into them as it goes around the corner. My logic is that if a car is going to drive into the corner, it will probably hit me whether I'm 1 foot from the curb or 5 because it is clearly not paying attention or being smart or something has gone terribly awry with the driver and they can no longer control the vehicle in which case it's just a tragedy.

Anyway, if anyone knows what rule of corner etiquette I'm missing out on, let me know because meanwhile, I'm just going to keep living on the edge.