Biking to work down Market today, I noticed the Muni buses begin to pile up. It was rather narrow to squeeze through but fairly safe since traffic was stagnant. The drivers all had their doors open and were casually chatting with one another, and some were even hanging outside their buses. Looks like this was a good day to take the Letters, unlike yesterday.
I finally approached the scene, but only emergency vehicles and the offending taxi remained. However, my friend Aiko-Sophie witnessed the ordeal and provides the following account:
I was on the 21 and saw a pedestrian that had just been hit by a taxi. His head was resting on the curb with his body still in the street. Blood was coming from the back of his head. His eyes were closed and he wasn’t moving.
Doesn’t sound very good. Let’s hope this turns out ok. Please be careful when crossing the street, pedestrians! Those taxis can be maniacs, but you would not believe how many pedestrians just blindly cross Market street right in front of my bike (without looking) every week!
The taxi in question can be seen being inspected here. MORE PHOTOS of the scene of the crime after the jump (always wanted to say that):
The Approach
Other view of taxi in question
Oops too fast
TRANSLATION: You wouldn’t believe how many pedestrians believe the traffic signals and step in front of bikes and autos who are rightfully disobeying the traffic signals because might makes right, y’know.
That may in fact be correct since I have observed the behavior you are describing. NONETHELESS, there are many cyclists, myself included, who ALWAYS obey the street lights on Market Street yet are put into dangerous situations by oblivious pedestrians.
When passengers disembark buses at the Muni “islands” within the street, they often immediately cross to the sidewalk without bothering to look at either incoming traffic or the color of the signal.
Likewise, they often step into crosswalks as soon as perpendicular traffic signals turn yellow without noticing that a bicycle has already entered the intersection and is barrelling towards them.
These instances not only both clearly violate the “right of way,” but also unfairly place law-abiding cyclists in dangerous situations, and I am trying to convey as honestly as possible that I witness them occuring quite frequently.
This happened to me this week at Market and Van Ness. I too always follow traffic lights along Market. In my case a woman stepped off a bus and right in front of me and I had the green light. I had to swerve to miss her and ended up hitting the curb with my front tire and I flipped over my handlebars.
She was elderly and I knew I could miss her but at the same time it sucked knowing I was about to take a fall. I wasn’t hurt at all so it wasn’t terrible but I consider myself lucky.
The city really needs to crack down on these maniac taxi drivers! I’m sick of the “its their living” excuse for not holding them to the same standard as any other random driver.
[...] Recovering After Being Hit by Taxi Driver on Market Street (Mission Mission via [...]
I know it’s a blog and all, so you can be loose with the facts… but, of all reported pedestrian injury or fatalities, its the motorists fault the majority of times. Pedestrian-caused collisions are 31%– so, maybe anger/annoyance should be directed elsewhere.
And even still– albeit annoying that someone isn’t paying attention or not in a crosswalk– it’s still not OK to hit them with a bike or car, ever.
i apologize if i sounded as though i was foisting blame on the injured pedestrian, as that was not my intention. i am merely cautioning (as a sometimes-pedestrian myself) that fellow pedestrians need to be especially mindful since they will undoubtedly be the losers of any collision.
on the other hand, when you are on your bike approaching an intersection with a green light and all of a sudden a sea of pedestrians departs muni island and heads for the sidewalk without looking, it will be impossible to avoid ALL of them. we’re talking like 20 people blindly crossing the street, some wearing headphones or with their heads down.
in that instance, i would not say a cyclist striking a pedistrian would be “not OK.”
While I hate riding my bike through unpredictable and often absent-minded people on foot, sometimes, you have to stop and wait while things clear up. It’s life– sometimes, we’re inconvenienced by other people ‘in our way’. As for the Muni station– it’s called a ‘Safety Zone’ and is a designated mixed-mode space, where those traveling fast are expected to slow down and watch for those crossing. It’s up to you on bike, foot, or bus driver to watch out there.
Before there were cars, streets were for everyone on foot, horse, bike and transit– and it was considered inappropriate travel at a speed threatening to other road users, including pedestrians. That all changed with the auto.
See Market Street in the pre-car days and notice the ‘anarchy’ resulting in calm normal streets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHpTK8c63uo
And take a look at: http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/technology_and_culture/v048/48.2norton.html for the history of clearing pedestrians off the streets for cars.
oh it will take sometime to recover from taxi accident. We need to take care of Taxi Accident.
[...] of Market Street. You may have witnessed it yourselves from time to time, or possibly have been inconvenienced while waiting on piled-up Muni buses from an occurrence several blocks ahead. You just never expect it to happen [...]
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