"Is ‘forgiveness’ just for auto drivers?"
The headline of this article made me think of the legal forgiveness that car/truck drivers often get when they hit pedestrians or bicyclists. But that's not what they are talking about. They are talking about engineered transportation designs that allow for our mistakes and human nature. An example of forgiving design is the placement of rumble-strips on the road to alert an auto driver they are approaching a stop or may be driving off onto the shoulder. Unfortunately, some of these forgiving elements only serve to allow drivers to speed up or drive more carelessly.
Forgiving design elements are known but rarely applied to protect pedestrians and bicyclists but that trend appears to be changing.
