New Video Teaches Muni Drivers How to Share the Streets With Cyclists
“Muni drivers help set the tone of the street for everyone, so it is especially important that they have the skills to lead by example,” said SFBC Deputy Director Kit Hodge. “This video is an important tool for educating Muni operators about how to drive safely around the rapidly increasing number of people biking throughout San Francisco.”
Bike safety instructor Bert Hill, who had a major part in producing the video, now uses it in the bicycle safety courses he provides to Muni operators for the SFMTA. The video is shown to all new Muni drivers, as well as any veteran drivers who must repeat their training, he said.
“The main things we’re trying to address are helping operators understand things that bicyclists are doing that are completely legal and very safe,” he said. “But it’s also important for them to recognize what bicyclists who aren’t trained in safety tend to do, which they may think is safe, but really isn’t.”
Muni operators are just one group the SFBC teaches bike safety courses to — the organization taught 4,800 new bike riders in 2012, and over 1,000 taxi driver applicants. The courses, Hill noted, have encouraged some Muni operators to start biking to work themselves. “I know two who ride their bike in and park it to drive the bus,” he said.