Cyclist enforcement pledged in S.F. safety program New program to steer bike riders to traffic school in return for lower fines

Bert Hill, chair of the Bicycle Advisory Committee, wears a bicycle pin and tie during a meeting where Board of Supervisors President David Chiu and other city leaders announced new efforts to improve street safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers at City Hall in San Francisco, Calif. on April 10, 2012. less Bert Hill, chair of the Bicycle Advisory Committee, wears a bicycle pin and tie during a meeting where Board of Supervisors President David Chiu and other city leaders announced new efforts to improve street ... more Photo: Siana Hristova, The Chronicle Photo: Siana Hristova, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Cyclist enforcement pledged in S.F. safety program 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

The week after a 71-year-old pedestrian died after being struck by a bicyclist in a Castro district crosswalk, city officials vowed Tuesday to hold errant cyclists accountable and to redouble efforts to get everyone - pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers - to travel more safely.

Part of that plan includes a new program that would allow bicyclists to pay lower traffic fines in exchange for taking a safety class.

"Cyclists do need to understand that traffic laws will be enforced fully, and certainly if there's behavior that crosses the criminal line, I expect the San Francisco district attorney's office to be working with the San Francisco Police Department in prosecuting those laws," said San Francisco Board of Supervisors President David Chiu.

Chiu, a regular bike commuter, said the city's new Safe Streets Program will include "enhanced community education and enforcement for all users, targeting the most dangerous locations and behaviors."

Capt. Al Casciato, who heads the SFPD's traffic company, said his officers regularly issue tickets to bikers who run red lights, ignore stop signs and break other laws. They've targeted Market Street, the Embarcadero and the "wiggle" bike route near the Panhandle where the problems are most prevalent, he said.

The Police Department also plans to acquire handheld computers that will allow them to write tickets electronically and track where most tickets are issued. That, officials said, will allow officers to target enforcement and better track how many tickets they issue.

But, Casciato added, "the enforcement piece is a very small piece." What's more effective, he said, is educating cyclists to prevent problems in the first place.

The idea for a biker safety class is modeled after a Marin County program. There, a bicyclist who is given a traffic ticket can attend a traffic school that teaches basic street skills and rules of the road. In return, they pay a lower fine.

The San Francisco program would be overseen by the Municipal Transportation Agency and the Police Department. It is expected to be operating by this fall at the latest.

Eligibility and other rules are still being worked out, but participation would be limited to people who commit traffic crimes that don't involve personal injury or property damage. The San Francisco Superior Court must approve the proposal.

The idea for a biking traffic school goes back more than six months, Casciato said. But city officials decided to speed up the announcement after the death of Sutchi Hui, who was walking with his wife in the crosswalk on a green light at Castro and Market streets when he was hit by a cyclist March 29. He died at San Francisco General Hospital on April 2.

Charges possible

District Attorney George Gascón is weighing whether to file criminal charges against the cyclist, Chris Bucchere, who prosecutors believe wrote a first-person account of the crash on a local Internet board. In the post, the writer says he couldn't stop and made a decision to plow into the crowded crosswalk.

Investigators are also reviewing a surveillance tape of the crash. The district attorney's office is awaiting the medical examiner's report before making a decision on whether to file charges against Bucchere.

It wouldn't be the first case this year of prosecutors filing charges against a bicyclist.

In March, Randolph Ang, 23, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in the death of 68-year-old Dionette Cherney. Prosecutors say Ang rode his bicycle through a red light and hit the woman as she walked across Mission Street at the Embarcadero. He was sentenced to three years of probation, 500 hours of community service and ordered to pay the victim's family $15,375 in restitution.

Number of accidents

Last year, 29 bikers hit pedestrians, resulting in two deaths, Casciato said. One of the people who died was the cyclist. The pedestrians were at fault in 10 cases, he said.

However, about two-thirds of the crashes were caused by the bike rider for such violations as failure to yield, excessive speed and running a red light.

"It is important to remember that pedestrian injuries caused by bicycle crashes are rare in our city," said Lainie Motamedi, president of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.

She said 899 pedestrians were injured last year in San Francisco, and 96 percent of those crashes involved cars.

"We must not let sensationalism of this one incident overshadow a far greater threat on our streets," Motamedi said of the Castro accident.

An estimated 3.5 percent of all trips in San Francisco are made by bicycle, a 75 percent increase since 2000, according to the MTA. The agency estimates there are about 75,000 daily riders in the city.

San Francisco Transportation Director Ed Reiskin said he hopes the Hui tragedy can be a wake-up call.

"There's lots of room for improvement," Reiskin said. "From my standpoint, I think there's a lot of unacceptable behavior that's happening out on the streets by people behind the wheel, by people on bikes, by people on foot. ... We don't have the luxury to not be paying attention out there."