Sharing San Francisco's Streets

Andrew Bennett and his 4-year-old son were riding a tandem extension bicycle last month when a 16-year-old driver (who witnesses say was busy talking on her cell phone) ran a red light, struck the bicycle, and kept going.

The collision broke Bennett’s back and cracked 4-year-old Robby’s helmet in half. But during an interview last week, Bennett was admirably calm. He praised the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition for bringing attention to the situation, and he expressed his “sincere hope” that “every driver who is distracted and talking on a cell phone while driving around San Francisco” will think “twice about it” and that “the manner in which everyone (especially the SFPD and the media) made this possible becomes the normal course of action in crimes against cyclists in our great city.”

Streetsblog, which has been following this hit and run story, commented that “with more and more people bicycling, San Francisco is actually seeing fewer collisions, showing that motorists and bicyclists are doing a better job of sharing the streets.”

See the Walkup Bicycle Accident Page for more information about bicyclists' right to share the road.

Setting the Record Straight

Almost before the dust had cleared from July’s L Taraval / K Ingleside Muni collision, an F-line train and another Muni streetcar sandwiched an SUV on August 3rd.

Photograph by Scott Beale.

The day after the collision, Nathaniel Ford, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority Director, had a handy explanation: “It appears to be that the operator was distracted by a customer who approached him with some information.”

But at yesterday’s Muni safety hearing, called by Supervisors Bevan Dufty and Sean Elsbernd, one witness shed some light. “I am here to set the record straight,” said Norman Tanner. “I am the person who was talking to the driver . . . no one was talking to the driver at the time (of the collision). I don’t know how that got out there.” Tanner also noted that the Muni driver seemed distracted and was closely following the SUV prior to the collision.