The author argues that was has changed is not the deadliness of cars (at least, to those outside them). It is the way in which dangerous cars are understood. We now instruct children in how to safely navigate roads intended for automobiles and see drivers as less than fully responsible for collisions in which pedestrians have ignored such rules.

It is worth noting that legal regimes vary. In the Netherlands, for instance, cars are automatically considered to be at fault in the event of a collision with a cyclist.