As the Chronicle points out, San Francisco pedestrians are injured more frequently than pedestrians in other cities. The most recent San Francisco Collision report showed that, in 2007, 796 pedestrians were struck by vehicles. In the same year, 451 bicycles were struck. (And these are only the reported collisions.)
That is more than 2 pedestrians a day, and more than 1 bicycle a day. More than half of San Francisco traffic fatalities involve pedestrians (versus 15 to 20 percent in other cities), according to Ana Validzic.
Sadly, the San Francisco Chronicle tries to put all the blame on the City's reckless pedestrians. But the law states that both pedestrians and drivers have a duty to use reasonable care. The driver's duty of care must take into account the fact that the driver is operating a potentially deadly machine.
As someone who lives in San Francisco, walking to work half the time, and driving to work the other half, I see careless pedestrians and cautious pedestrians; reckless drivers and reasonable drivers. Hopefully, with everyone taking responsibility for their own actions, we can make these streets a safer place.
