• 26
  • October
    2011

Since video surveillance cameras were installed in the Muni system last year, bus accidents have been cut in half, according to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.

The cameras are designed to activate when a bus slams on the brakes or accelerates quickly - indicators that the driver may be handling the vehicle improperly. Despite this, Muni accidents are unfortunately still far from uncommon around San Francisco, including accidents that cause serious injuries and sometimes even death.

Recent Muni Accidents

One such accident occurred in mid-September when a bike rider was hit by an 8X-Bayshore Express as she rode home from work. The cyclist was struck by the bus while trying to avoid a double-parked car as she went through the intersection of Columbus Avenue and Broadway. As she did this, she fell off of her bike and it was reported that the bus ran over her arm and drove away. The victim, whose arm was crushed in the accident, plans to sue the city for her injuries.

"We just can't understand how an operator can literally run over somebody and not stop to check it out," the victim's attorney, Doug Saeltzer, told the San Francisco Examiner. "A professional driver should know if they hit someone."

In another accident involving a Muni bus, a pedestrian was killed crossing the street at the intersection of Hartford and 18th Streets. The victim, who had almost made it to the curb when she was struck by a shuttle bus, died at the scene. Police say that the driver was not impaired when the accident occurred, and that he is cooperating with the investigation.

According to the San Francisco Examiner, the Municipal Transportation Agency has a fund of between $22 million and $23 million to pay for accident injury claims. In the last five years, Muni has paid almost $92 million to settle claims that resulted from accidents.