Traffic Enforcement

Stanley Roberts asked me to come out yesterday for one of his "People Behaving Badly" segments and help explain how drivers should legally make a right-turn, since CBS 5 didn't get it quite right. Roberts still didn't touch on the point that CBS got wrong -- drivers can't just jump in front of people on bikes because they got to the intersection first -- but it's good to see him devote attention to the issue.

At the press conference held yesterday for the sentencing of Chris Bucchere, it was clear that District Attorney George Gascón's rhetoric concerning traffic safety has evolved somewhat, toward a more accurate reflection of the dangers on city streets. In a departure from the "message to cyclists" that was his focus last month, Gascón emphasized that "traffic safety is a shared responsibility," regardless of one's mode of transport:

The speed limit on Woodside Avenue was recently raised from 30 miles per hour to 35 MPH, according to Mark Dreger, who's lived in the neighborhood his whole life. Dreger posted a photo in the Streetsblog comments section of a 30 MPH sign on Woodside, with a 35 MPH sign seen right behind it, in what appeared to be slip up by the crews who switched them out.

At the press conference yesterday to announce the plea deal between prosecutors and Chris Bucchere in the death of Sutchi Hui, SF District Attorney George Gascón said that his "goal is to send a message" to cyclists.

On an average day in San Francisco, three people are injured by drivers. But only a small portion of these crashes are reported in the media. Of those that do get ink, most reports are just a blurb of very basic information -- whether the person suffered "life-threatening" or "non-life threatening" injuries, whether the driver "cooperated" with police. Rarely are stories told about the victims whose lives were left shattered in the wake of the crash.

While waiting at a bus stop on Third Street this weekend, Streetsblog reader Mike Sonn tweeted about his frustration with the nearly non-existent enforcement of bus-only lanes. Watching drivers fill up the few traffic lanes set aside for transit with impunity is an everyday part of riding Muni in San Francisco, where ensuring that marked transit lanes are actually used for transit just doesn't seem to be a priority for police.

Members of the SF Police Commission, a civilian body charged with police oversight, urged SFPD officials at a hearing last week to focus their traffic enforcement efforts on the greatest danger facing people walking: driver violations.

Featured on the front page of today's San Francisco Chronicle and ABC 7 is an epic exposé on the lack of legal accountability for drivers who kill pedestrians in the Bay Area. The piece is by Zusha Elinson, a journalist at the Center for Investigative Reporting.

SF District Attorney George Gascón and SFPD Traffic Company Commander Mikail Ali held a press conference last Thursday to bring attention to distracted driving, since April is officially National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.