2013 was deadliest year of past 7 for San Francisco pedestrians

As the post title says, 2013 was not a good year for pedestrian safety in San Francisco. The number of fatal accidents that occurred in those 12 months made it the deadliest year in the past seven for pedestrians. December was particularly bad, with seven total pedestrian fatalities.

Even though it is the pedestrian that most often suffers the fatal injuries in an auto-pedestrian collision, it is often the driver that is found to be at fault in causing it. Behaviors such as speeding, running a red light or failing to stop before the crosswalk limit lines are some of the common causes of these types of accidents — and the basis for a personal injury or wrongful death claim.

Sadly, it can be easy for drivers to fail to grasp the seriousness of these types of negligent driving behaviors. Not every instance of speeding or every stop sign that is run results in an accident. Causing a serious or fatal accident could quickly put these risks into perspective, but San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr doesn’t want this to be way that the lesson is learned.

Instead, Chief Suhr hopes to deter drivers from committing traffic violations that put pedestrians at risk by increasing the enforcement of these laws. He announced on Thursday, Jan. 16, that he intends to up the amount of citations that the department hands out for these violations.

As an example of the seriousness of the campaign, he noted that in one day, the department had already issued 40 citations at a single intersection known as a dangerous one for pedestrians and bicyclists. “You will see more of that kind of enforcement,” he warned drivers.

Source: SF Gate, “S.F. police chief vows change in light of pedestrian deaths,” Michael Cabanatuan, Jan. 17, 2014