Cyclist vs. Muni bus on Harrison Street

Our pal Pen Pop is on the scene:

Hey, not sure of the details except that the bike and a backpack were under the wheels of a muni. Looks like the bus was turning off Harrison into the depot. I don’t know the condition of the cyclist but the police aren’t letting the bus move. Now there are about thirteen buses (combined both sides) waiting to go in. Watch out for buses, watch out for stop signs.

42 Responses to “Cyclist vs. Muni bus on Harrison Street”

  1. Herr Doktor Professor Deth Vegetable says:

    Oh geez, I hope nobody was hurt.

  2. Mary says:

    I saw this riding home. It didn’t look good for the cyclist, but I still have hope s/he is OK. Very sad.

  3. Bartlettian says:

    I saw it too. We must have been by around the same time. At 7:15pm the busses were backed up to Division. There were 2 ambulances on the scene. I can’t figure out how it happened as I remember the bike being under the front axle of the articulated bus. Maybe the driver didn’t look or the cyclist whipped around the corner from 15th? It’s not as if those sixty foot buses pull into the garage at great speeds.

    Regardless, I’m praying we don’t see a ghost bike there.

  4. SleepyJean says:

    Oh my god, I saw it too. Oh my god, I saw it too. Oh my god, I saw it too. Oh my god, I saw it too. Oh my god, I saw it too. Oh my god, I saw it too. Oh my god, I saw it too. Oh my god, I saw it too. Oh my god, I saw it too. Oh my god, I saw it too. Oh my god, I saw it too. Oh my god, I saw it too. Oh my god, I saw it too.Oh my god, I saw it too. Oh my god, I saw it too. Oh my god, I saw it too. Oh my god, I saw it too. Oh my god, I saw it too.

  5. Epic says:

    I am very sorry it escalated to this and hope the cyclist is ok.

    I ride through here every night on my way home. Some Muni drivers can be very competitive out of the previous stop sign heading south and will overtake and cut off a cyclist to turn right into the barn.

    I’ve had to brake hard more than a few times to keep from getting hit by the second carriage of one of the extended busses.

    This is a main thoroughfare for cycles, Muni needs to let their drivers know how dangerous this behavior is.

    • Nope says:

      I’m a cyclist and I understand that it’s bike drag, but MUNI buses turning into their depot get priority because A. they’re freaking huge and predictable, and B. its Bus Depot.

      I hope this person didn’t die.

      • commentariatsays says:

        I HOPE THE NEXT TIME A MUNI BUS ILLEGALLY TURNS IT IS IN FRONT OF YOUR SORRY NOPING ASS.

      • I'm (not) a Cyclist says:

        “I’m a cyclist” is starting to equate to the “I have a black friend, so I’m not racist” disclaimer. Law clearly states that drivers must yield to cyclists in a bike lane when crossing a bike lane to turn. As professional drivers it should be expected by all involved (auto drivers, pedestrians, cyclists & Muni drivers) that MUNI operators will obey traffic law.

        Size of the bus and location are irrelevant. If you do actually regularly bike in this city your perspective will change the first time you hear a MUNI bus wind up full throttle to drive up next to you only to cut you off or run you over with the articulating portion to make a turn.

        Toss off auto apologist douche.

        • Black Friend says:

          Huh? Somebody say my name?

        • Topian says:

          I generally yield to larger vehicles no matter what the law says. Otherwise you are putting your life in the hands of someone else, which seems counter intuitive.

        • loinscum says:

          The law also clearly states that all vehicles receive priority over bicycles when turning (I.E all vehicles must turn into the bike lane 200 feet before the stop sign when making a right hand turn)

          The Bus Depot would definitely qualify, so the bicyclist must yield to the bus. Sorry if it ruins your sweet momentum, bro.

          • John Murphy says:

            Please head to the DMV and turn in your license.

            Vehicles must *merge* into the bike lane prior to making a turn. Merging means “changing lanes”. If you change lanes and hit something, you are at fault, period.

          • mushmouth says:

            Many large vehicles (and a MUNI bus is one such vehicle) can’t physically merge into the right lane to make a right turn.

  6. Bill W says:

    Riding Harrison straight all the way from soma I’ve been cut off a ton of times by a Muni bus gunning it and then slamming on the brakes to turn into the depot. The cyclist behind me on Monday night almost got taken out this way, with lights on and everything

  7. moto-waki says:

    the cops working the scene were kinda dicks.

  8. dlm says:

    I hope that the cyclist had plenty of lights and reflectors on. I know that’s what motorcycles and cars use to make sure they are seen.

    • Siempre Bike Hurt says:

      troll

    • commentariatsays says:

      WHAT DO PEDESTRIANS USE TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE SEEN? WHAT ABOUT CHAIR WHEELED FOLK? SEEMS LIKE YOUR LOGIC AIN’T ALL THAT

      • dlm says:

        No, actaully not a troll. Just a person who is very scared when ever I almost hit a cyclist who runs a stop sign on harrison at night. Why am I afraid of that? because invariably they are wearing all black and have no lights or reflectors.
        imagine if a car were driving without lights or reflectors and ran stop signs? pretty scary.

        • commentariatsays says:

          IMAGINE IF BIKES WERE GAS POWERED 3,500 POUND VEHICLES THAT COULD 0-60 IN 6 SECONDS AND OVER 100MPH! IMAGINE!

        • SKANDAL says:

          Sorry Lady, that happens sometimes because not all of us WANT TO BE SEEN. I realize it’s against the LAW. I personally AVOID all vehicles – you’ll never see me – can’t say that for a lot of the kooks on bikes out there at night riding like dicks. F them.

  9. EZ says:

    That biker was me:) I am surprisingly (and amazingly) okay! I have a lot of scrapes and bruises but that is all. I was so incredibly lucky! I not only stopped at the stop sign, I also had front and back lights and a bright blue backpack with reflecting strips on it. It was definitely dark and the bus driver just didn’t look at all and I had no idea that he was going to turn right there as he didn’t have a turn signal on and I’m not familiar with that bus depot. I am an incredibly careful biker but sometimes things just happen. Bikers be super careful around muni buses!

    • Herr Doktor Professor Deth Vegetable says:

      Wow, that’s scary! Glad you’re OK.

    • Topian says:

      I am relieved to learn that you are okay.
      I sometimes avoid riding along bus routes after a cyclist was hit and killed on one that I used to use.

  10. emnity smith says:

    Glad you’re OK! MUNI drivers are not so OK. Beware!

  11. Driver says:

    I can tell you there are lot of cyclist irresponsible and foolish out there. I hope this was one of them.

    • I have a motorist friend says:

      And people still like to pretend motorists like Driver here aren’t intentionally violent, vengeful jerks. I hope you get cancer.

    • 94103er says:

      Allan, the cyclist is OK and commented above under the name EZ. Why don’t you update your post, so that asshats like Driver here might at least have his curiosity satisfied enough not to blurt out an inane, pointlessly mean-spirited, grammatically challenged comment ?

  12. 94103er says:

    Also, your pal Pen Pop is very kind to warn us to ‘watch out for buses [and] stop signs,’ so very kind. Oh wait, but of course it was the driver’s fault and it sounds like EZ couldn’t have done much else to prevent the crash. Unsafe bike lanes FTW, once again. Quit blaming the victims.

  13. mushmouth says:

    Here is the thing, Large vehicles CAN NOT merge into the bike lane to take a right turn. They are required to signal, but in order for them to clear the curb they need to take the turn from further left than merging into the bike lane (or often the right hand travel lane). Many trucks have a “Wide Right Turn” sign on the right side of the rear door to make this clear to other users of the road.

    Again they are required to signal and if you see the right signal you should not try to go to the right of them. Sadly the signal is often automatically canceled if they turn their steering wheel left (even just a little) before beginning their turn, because they often need a bit more room to navigate the wide turn. And Yes far too ofter people forget to signal. So again your best bet when approaching a truck or bus is to pass carefully aware of what is around you in the road, because the best person to insure your safety is YOU.

  14. Da' Grinch says:

    With all of the careless SF cyclists running red lights, and ignoring traffic laws this was bound to happen.

    • Herr Doktor Professor Deth Vegetable says:

      Way to blame the victim, there, sparky.

      • la dee da says:

        Cyclist fault for running the stop sign…..she ran the stop sign and slammed into the the side of the bus…..the bus didn’t hit her. So yeah, it is her fault…..and she it so blame.

        • Herr Doktor Professor Deth Vegetable says:

          Are you sure that is what happened? *IF* that was what happened, then, sure, yeah, that would be the cyclist’s fault. *BUT*, according to the only witness we’ve heard from, that is NOT what happened. Re: “I not only stopped at the stop sign, I also had front and back lights and a bright blue backpack with reflecting strips on it.”