Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?

#1

Post by 001sky » Sat, Nov 09, 2013, 9:20 PM UTC

Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?
nytimes.com

Re: Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?

#2

Post by imwhimsical » Sat, Nov 09, 2013, 10:01 PM UTC

TL;DR — No.

Re: Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?

#3

Post by ck2 » Sat, Nov 09, 2013, 10:04 PM UTC

The US has always had a horrible "you are on your own mentality".

I mean, over a hundred kids have been killed by gun rampages in schools over the past several years and nothing has changed. Oh wait, no MORE guns have been made legal and available, not less.

So basically the American public becomes trained to be desensitized to deaths, cyclists, schoolkids, drunk driving, etc.

Re: Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?

#4

Post by Lagged2Death » Sat, Nov 09, 2013, 10:06 PM UTC

imwhimsical wrote: post #2

TL;DR — No.

You'd better read it this time maybe.

Re: Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?

#5

Post by mrleinad » Sat, Nov 09, 2013, 10:07 PM UTC

"It's frowned upon, like masturbating on an airplane" - Alan, "The Hangover"

Really? What's this kind of article/column doing in HN?

Re: Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?

#6

Post by Lagged2Death » Sat, Nov 09, 2013, 10:11 PM UTC

ck2 wrote: post #3

The US has always had a horrible "you are on your own mentality". I mean, over a hundred kids have been killed by gun rampages in schools over the past several years and nothing has changed. Oh wait, no MORE guns have been made legal and available, not less. So basically the American public becomes trained to be desensitized to deaths, cyclists, schoolkids, drunk driving, etc.

The US has always had a horrible "you are on your own mentality".

I get where you're coming from, and I wouldn't say it's wrong, but I really think there's something else going on in this case.

If a driver kills a pedestrian or a person driving another car, there are consequences; if a driver kills a cyclist, there are effectively none. That contrast isn't explained by a "you are on your own" mentality.

Re: Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?

#7

Post by antonius » Sat, Nov 09, 2013, 10:12 PM UTC

If there was ever a title to draw you into reading the article.. this is it.

Re: Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?

#8

Post by rcthompson » Sat, Nov 09, 2013, 10:13 PM UTC

imwhimsical wrote: post #2

TL;DR — No.

You must not have read the article, because that's definitely not the TL;DR. Sentences like this tell a very different story:

> We do not know of a single case of a cyclist fatality in which the driver was prosecuted, except for D.U.I. or hit-and-run.

That sure sounds to me like society has de facto decided "It's OK to kill cyclists as long as you aren't drunk and you stick around to apologize afterward."

Re: Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?

#9

Post by tnuc » Sat, Nov 09, 2013, 10:13 PM UTC

Legally it's OK to kill cyclists.

Lobbyists who work for car companies, write the law on road safety.

Re: Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?

#10

Post by busterarm » Sat, Nov 09, 2013, 10:13 PM UTC

I got run over from behind by an MTA bus in New York several years ago and the bus driver drove away. I called the local police precinct (non-emergency line) to report it with the bus number (the 4 digit one on the back) and they repeatedly hung up on me when I told them I was run down by a city bus who drove away.