Muni Metro Exiting Passenger Hit By Car - Will SFPD Finally Enforce the Law?

Many of who takes Muni metro have experienced at least one close call when exiting a surface stop and a car decides to blow past the train.  Those moments put chills in your bones, and maybe the feeling you want to slash the tires of that moron.

For you loyal fans, I've written about this a couple of times: An incident where I had a close encounter with a speeding SUV while I was exiting the metro, and a popular stop along the N-Judah line where cars pass by a stopped metro vehicle on a regular basis.

As we are aware, state law forbids drivers to pass a stopped light rail vehicle that is boarding and discharging passengers, or basically whenever the train doors are open.  We call this the "Do Not Pass" law.  Drivers are only permitted to drive past a light rail vehicle once it goes into motion, and not when just the doors close (there's the assumption passengers may still exit the train), or can legally pass a vehicle if it is in a designated "safety zone" at 10 MPH if it is marked with signage saying so.

Just yesterday morning at Taraval and 19th Avenue, a passenger exiting the L-Taraval train was struck by a car, and while it's not life threatening injuries, it delayed the entire line for 45 minutes.  (News article from SF Appeal).

You would think education would work, well it seems the answer is no [facepalm].  People continuously disobey the law and puts passengers entering and exiting the trains in danger.  When will the SFPD conduct enforcement and teach violators a serious lesson in driving?

Citizens constantly complain about laws being broken in their neighborhood, but the cops just don't do anything or say there's more serious things they need to do.  There are tons of occasions that the police or even the city will finally make changes or stronger enforcement when someone GETS KILLED because of it.  For example, a former two-way stop at 47th Avenue and Fulton was so extremely dangerous the city kept it a two way (stop signs for north & south) and extended the red no parking zone for better visibility, but only turned it into a 4-way when a pedestrian was hit and killed by a speeding driver going on west on Fulton.  The SFMTA tried stalling citizens complaints by responding it would "delay Muni," but from the many who called to complain, we all knew it was total bullshit.

When I drive on streets like Judah and Taraval, I always respect the law and wait behind the metro vehicle to let it do its job to embark and disembark passengers.  I've had assholes honk at me, including a taxicab, demanding me to pass the vehicle; all I do is keep my foot on the brake, roll down my window, point my finger at the yellow sticker on the back of the train saying not to pass, and pull my middle finger up to flick them off.

I don't have hundreds of dollars to pay the fine and court costs.

9th Avenue and Judah (N-Judah Outbound) is Dangerous for Passengers

View Larger Map

Seasons greetings to all my readers and I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  As some of you may know, I've moved into the Inner Sunset district and have been here for the past few months.  It's always great that I'm just a short walk from all the merchants and restaurants along 9th Avenue and on Irving, especially some places I haven't patronized since I was a little kid eating Sunday breakfast with my parents.

One of the greatest perks is the ample access to public transit.  On 9th Avenue and Judah, you can practically go any direction with the 6, 43, 44, and 66 lines.  But the fastest way to downtown is on the N-Judah.

I love the N-Judah for its air conditioning and quick rides to downtown, but I'm really concerned about the 9th Avenue and Judah outbound stop.  If you have a driver's license, you are aware of the "Do Not Pass" law which requires drivers to stop behind the last metro car door when the train is embarking and disembarking passengers.  It's a matter of safety that passengers can exit the train without getting hit by an incoming vehicle.

While the city does put an effort to put stickers on the back of metro vehicles, police sting enforcement, and those big signs saying "Do Not Pass" (not everywhere in the city), this gets largely ignored at the 9th and Judah stop for the outbound trains.  Every time I exit the metro, there's always a car that buzzes through; even though there's an island between the tracks and the roadway, drivers still ignore the law.

Some of you may be saying, if there's a boarding island, I can pass a metro car that's embarking/disembarking passengers?  The answer is mixed.  State vehicle code, section 27156 makes it clear that only a car can pass a light rail vehicle only if there's specific signage, ("safety zone") traffic officer, or police officer telling the driver to pass, but only at 10MPH.  When there's no specific signage permitting passing or a cop directing traffic, then the Do Not Pass law applies.

9th Avenue and Judah at the N-Judah's outbound stop does not have any signage permitting passing a metro train, therefore it is a violation to pass it.  But one big problem that I have is there isn't even a "Do Not Pass" sign at the stop.  If you see the Google Streetview on the top of this blog entry, there is absolutely no signs anywhere reminding drivers about the law.

For me, I'm quite worried when I exit the metro at a surface stop.  I fear that a driver will just decide to pass and I'll be the next person going to the hospital.  Back in January, I had a close encounter and two other passengers exiting almost got hit too.

For passengers: Always remember to look before you take the final step off the metro.
For drivers: Respect the law.
For Muni: INSTALL A SIGN!

Many Drivers Don't Respect the Do Not Pass Laws at Muni Metro Stops

"Hey, what the f--- are you doing!?!?!?!"

That's the first words I blurted out loud when I just exited the metro yesterday morning before 9AM. To those I offended by saying the f-word in public, sorry.

Here's what happened:
I had to visit a local x-ray center to get my teeth scanned, so I took the M-Ocean View metro from my workplace at SF State to 14th and West Portal. When the train got to 14th Avenue, I exited the train, looked both ways to make sure it was okay to cross, and noticed a grey SUV approaching at about 300 feet towards the train in the right lane (the train was in the track lane on the left).

There was enough time to reach the curb with the assumption the SUV would stop as well (even if the SUV was approaching, I could walk fast enough to cross), so I hopped off the train and was about eight feet away from the sidewalk/curb.

Instead of the SUV stopping, it decided to keep driving through the stopped metro train with inches to spare from clipping me. To make matters worse, two other passengers stepped off the train (exited) and saw the SUV pass by IN FRONT OF THEM. That's when I yelled out, "HEY, WHAT THE F--- ARE YOU DOING?!?!"

Instead of the SUV driver admitting to a mistake and quickly coming to a stop, it decides to quickly stop at the intersection and speed off very quickly down West Portal.

As for me yelling out the f-word, I sure had a lot of people staring at me, but hopefully they knew why; that idiot driver could have mowed down up to three people, including myself.

--------------------

This brings me to the topic of the day: Why are people disrespecting the "Do Not Pass" laws when a light rail and cable car is stopped at a designated stop to discharge and accept passengers?

Every time I ride the metro or the California line cable car I see it every time, some prick driver deciding to speed through while the vehicle is stopped to discharge and accept passengers.

It seems to be worse on the California cable car line because tourists sometimes don't look both ways and you get a bunch of rude drivers who just doesn't obey the law; in one case, I was a driver, and stopped for a cable car discharging passengers. The taxicab behind me decides to blow his horn at me, so I give the driver the finger as more passengers discharge from the cable car.

Even Stanley Roberts of KRON took on this issue with this video report:

The law states that if a metro train or cable car is stopped to pickup/discharge passengers, a driver must stop behind the vehicle to allow the passengers to board and exit without fear of being hit. A driver can attempt to proceed/pass a railed vehicle on the right side only when the vehicle starts moving.

In some circumstances, the boarding island will have a sign saying it's OK to pass, but at a reduced speed. You find these on Ocean Avenue for the K-Ingleside line where you can pass on the right, but only at 10MPH when the light rail vehicle is stopped at the island. In other cases, you can pass at full speed because the island has barriers to separate pedestrians from vehicles (e.g. St. Francis Circle metro stop, see photo by clicking here).

In my case, 14th Avenue and West Portal didn't have a barrier, only a boarding island that only covers half of a one car train, therefore the "do not pass" law applies.

Drivers who violates the law: What's your damn hurry? Is it worth a $250 fine and a point on your driving record? Is it worth facing a judge in traffic court and possibly spending time at traffic school? It is worth raising your insurance rates? And is it worth possibly hitting a pedestrian, paying their medical bills/funeral costs, getting arrested, prosecuted, and spending time in jail? Hell no.

So do me a favor drivers, when a metro train or cable car is stopped and passengers must exit by crossing a traffic lane, just stop behind it. All I need is more x-ray radiation to check for a broken arm, leg, and other stuff.