"There have been 18 cyclist fatalities in New York so far this year. Perhaps drivers should face more serious consequences."

"But without a systemic rethinking of the primacy of cars in urban life and the implementation of more aggressive ways to de-incentivize driving and particularly careless driving, it is hard to imagine a new world emerging."

I can't recall a time since he was elected prosecutor that Keith Henderson has "held accountable" a driver who has killed a non-driver. Maybe I missed one, but I think the trend is clear. It isn't a very good trend, either.

We’ve Blamed Traffic Deaths on Bicyclists Since 1880. What About Drivers?, by Ginia Bellafante (New York Times)

There have been 18 cyclist fatalities in New York so far this year. Perhaps drivers should face more serious consequences.

 ... However much cyclists might need to heighten their awareness on the roads, cars and trucks kill people in far greater volume than cyclists kill people. Of the 711 pedestrians who have died in traffic collusions since 2014, only four have been killed by bicycles.

The law, however, protects some forms of human error more assiduously than others. In the same week that a driver was punished with a summons for opening a car door in such a way that it led to a young woman’s death, Juan Rodriguez, a social worker and the father of 1-year old twins, was charged with manslaughter for accidentally closing the door to his car, leaving his children in the back seat, where they died from the excessive heat. He believed that he had dropped them off at day care, in a scenario that has become tragically common among distracted parents since the late 1990s.

Just over a week ago, the mayor introduced a $58.4 million plan directed at promoting bike safety in the wake of the current crisis in fatalities. The plan calls for the installation of more bike lanes, the redesign of certain intersections and various traffic signaling adjustments ...