Saturday, April 7, 2012

Bicyclist Kills Pedestrian In San Francisco Intersection

Before you run that next red light you might want to read this story about a cyclist who killed a pedestrian in a San Francisco intersection.

2 comments:

Donald said...

IANAL, but it doesn't sound like he "ran a red light". It sounds like he was already in the intersection by the time it turned red, which if I understand the law (in FL at least) would mean that he had the right of way to exit the intersection.

Additionally, in Florida, it instructs pedestrians: "No pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield."

So it sounds like, while the death is tragic and an investigation is certainly called for, he may not have been legally at fault. Though it depends on how the laws in CA compare to those here.

That said, it is always the duty of the more dangerous vehicle (in this case the bicycle) to yield to the at-risk vehicle (or pedestrian), regardless of law. I think this tragedy could have been avoided if all parties had been more careful.

CyclerJim said...

That was a very unfortunate and rare accident. Now look at this very common accident. A bicyclist was hit and the driver takes off, but a wonderful quick thinking bus driver blocks the driver's escape. Search Youtube for "Bethlehem Car v Bike Crash Hit and Run".