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American drivers are rarely prosecuted for murdering cyclists, even if the driver was running a red light, speeding, or committing some other kind of traffic vi
by cowmoo728 4y ago
American drivers are rarely prosecuted for murdering cyclists, even if the driver was running a red light, speeding, or committing some other kind of traffic violation. Even drivers that hit-and-run regularly get off with some kind of "time served" or probation plea. Sometimes they'll be given a moving violation fine of a few hundred dollars.
This is an opinion piece from 2013 but is still accurate because enforcement has not changed since:
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/opinion/sunday/is-it-ok-to-kill-cyclists.html https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/opinion/sunday/is-it-ok-t...
More recent examples:
https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/biking/cycling-deaths-us-culture-wars/ https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/biking/cycli...
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2016/04/23/motorists-kill-cyclists-fines-but-no-jail/82982570/ https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-court...
- paulgb 4y agoAnother example here in NYC recently. The driver ultimately blamed a vehicular malfunction and the DA basically said there was no way to disprove that so the driver walked free. By all appearances the driver got away with road rage murder. https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2022/01/13/driver-who-killed-delivery-man-offered-little-remorse-few-answers-during-deposition/ https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2022/01/13/driver-who-killed-del...
- murphyslab 4y agoIn British Columbia this year (after some changes to the insurance system), the provincial insurance corporation, ICBC, billed a cyclist $3700 for damage to a car that hit him after the car driver blew through a stop sign: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/cyclist-billed-by-icbc-vows-fight-1.6408042 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/cyclist-bill... They have just in the past month updated the policy, but there have been several instances of this in the past 12 months.