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Cab drivers are an important part of San Francisco, and unfortunately this week the taxis are one of the hazards, particularly for bicyclists and pedestrians. San Francisco is a supposedly bicycle friendly city with its many bike lanes and pro bicycling traffic signs and laws and its many bicycle commuters. Cycling to work or just for errands is a great way to lower our carbon footprint while also getting great exercise.

All cyclist know that they need to be on guard while riding among motor traffic. Defensive riding is the key, even if a cyclist is in their designated bicycle lane. A distracted automobile driver can in one inattentive second cause devastating personal injuries. And in the end, even if the bicyclist is right, who is the most likely to be injured?

So, we riders spend so much of our time looking to see what the other guy is likely to do. Bicycle riding in traffic is constant strategizing, second by second. Every moment a cyclist is perceiving and clearing hazards in their own minds. Because motorists just don’t see us.

However, taxi drivers are not supposed to be normal drivers. Cab drivers are supposed to be professional drivers, so why do so many have such an aggressive and hazardous attitude toward everyone else on the road? I am sad to report that for the second time this week, a taxicab hit a bicyclist. This time the cab driver ran a red light at an intersection in San Francisco’s Mission District and severely injured a bicyclist.

The 46-year-old male bicyclist was taken to the hospital to be treated for life-threatening injuries.

As a San Francisco Bicycle Accident Attorney I hear constantly about car versus bicycle collisions and I have many cases against taxi drivers. I am also not surprised to learn that there are a few different stories stemming from the accident that do not jibe. In this case the Bay City News and Mission Local report conficting stories so it is difficult to tell definitively what happened. It seems consistent though that the taxicab ran a red light and hit the bicycle rider. At any rate, the more vulnerable person was the victim again and it’s the second time this week!

Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss bicycle or car accidents or what to do if you are in a bicycle accident. Sadly, many police reports list the cyclist as the faulty party when in fact this is not proven to be the case after investigation. I believe that police naturally list the cyclist as the at fault party most of the time, even though the cyclist has done nothing wrong. I challenge studies that propose that typically the cyclist is at fault in most auto accidents. I disagree.

3 Comments

  1. Gravatar for Evad the Slayer
    Evad the Slayer

    I am a full time cyclist, at age 64. Drivers do not realize that we are on two wheels, not four; do not have 2 tons of steel around us; have to look out for traffic in 4 directions PLUS have to constantly scan the street/bike lane for debris and negotiate traffic at the same time. I wear extremely bright clothing and still find myself endangered by drivers cutting me off with right hand turns even though I have the right of way. I also see zillions of cell phone users and wonder why it is that the cops seem so blind when anyone can sit at an intersection and see cell phone users ad nauseum. I don't think driving habits will ever change. They simply do not pay attention to what they are doing. Yacking, eating, snoozing, reading, doing hair, drinking, texting, everthing but paying attention. The two bike accidents are deplorable and those taxi drivers should be prosecuted to the fullest and their licenses revoked...permanently.

  2. Gravatar for gab
    gab

    You are not reporting well.

    The taxicab that hit the bicyclist did not run a red light. The bicyclist did. At least according to your source. http://sfappeal.com/news/2011/05/bicyclists-hit-by-taxi-early-sunday.php

  3. Claude Wyle

    If you read further down in the source article to the first account of the incident, you'll see it implies the taxi didn't stop. At any rate it is not clear exactly what happened as there are many different accounts of the story (which often happens when a bicyclist is injured).

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