The recent death of Johns Hopkins student Nathan Krasnopoler after being struck by a car in February is a tragedy. But The Sun has given the impression his death was entirely due to the age of the 83-year-old driver of the car he collided with, allowing younger drivers to conclude this is not a problem that concerns them.
Nothing could be further from the truth. In the Krasnopoler case, the driver was turning directly from the inside lane into her driveway. It is doubtful that she "failed to yield right of way"; more likely, she just didn't see him in her car's blind spot.
A much younger truck driver in Charles Village also caused a bicyclist fatality. He was turning right from the right lane and didn't see the cyclist at all. And motorcycles are routinely struck by motorists who do not see them.
It's impossible to say what the solution is for drivers of any age not seeing a bike or motorcycle until it's too late. But it is very misleading to simply blame these deaths on age or bad drivers, when often neither is the cause.
Laurin Motsay, Baltimore