On Sunday, November 15, 2020, a solemn ceremony took place at the San Francisco City Hall. The steps were lined with 187 pairs of shoes, representing a Bay Area resident whose life ended in a traffic accident. The mourners placed flowers by the shoes in memory of those who had been hit by cars.
Most of the victims were walking although some were on skateboards or bicycles. An alarming statistic that everyone should recognize is that every 15 hours on average, someone is taken to San Francisco General Hospital after being severely injured when hit by a vehicle. So far this year 21 people have been killed in traffic crashes in San Francisco. In 2018 there were 23 pedestrian deaths in San Francisco City streets caused by speeding vehicles.
San Francisco Bay Area Families for Safe Streets and Walk San Francisco put on the ceremony at City Hall to remember those people killed or severely injured by cars. The two organizations are requesting San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Director Jeffrey Tomlin to lower speed limits on high injury streets including Bush, Sunnydale, Geary, 19th Avenue and Thomas More Way. The request includes a “left turn calming” to slow vehicles and better protect pedestrians in the crosswalk.
The shoes of the victims varied from high heels to flats, basketball sneakers and Doc Martens. None of these people should have been killed. Speed is the primary factor in causing pedestrian deaths. A vehicle that hits a pedestrian at 40 mph will result in death 80 percent of the time. A 30 mph pedestrian collision, 4 out of 10 pedestrians will be killed.
Bay Area Personal Injury attorney, Lew Van Blois, has written several blogs in the last 5 years to inform citizens of the increase of pedestrian deaths in cities and of the unsafe San Francisco streets that already have caused 21 deaths this year.
Read the next three blogs on San Francisco pedestrian deaths over the next 3 weeks to discover what is causing the increase in deaths, who some of the biggest speeders are, and how the City is trying to limit pedestrian deaths. The Van Blois & Associates specializes in Personal Injury Accidents. If you are involved in a pedestrian vs. bicycle accident or have any questions regarding pedestrian or bicycle accidents, please contact our law firm.
Lew Van Blois
Bay Area, Personal Injury Attorney
