Well looky here, just posted less than an hour ago on the YouTube by“GetBackJoeJoe” (does he work for MUNI?) is DRIVECAM footage of the January 5, 2010 accident involving a 19 Polk line bus.
Of course it would be nice to have more info (and maybe a view to the left and the right as well) but, man oh man, I’d hate to be the pickup truck driver’s Plaintiff’s Shyster on this one. Obviously, that was way fast for a California Stop from the MUNI driver,* but did you see how far the bus made it through the intersection before getting hit? And did you hear that lengthy panic stop?
(Not sure if GPS is the best way to measure the speed of the bus, but no matter, both drivers should show more a lot more respect to stop signs, needless to say.)
The moment of impact, courtesy of the DRIVECAM:
The passengers inside the bus have a great case (assuming they were physically injured). As always, make sure to file your claim with the govmint comfortably within six months of the date any injury. (If you, the bus passenger, get a lawyer, he or she will sue any and all parties that could possibly be at fault, of course.)
Let’s hope for a quick recovery for all injured and fewer intersection collisions in 2010.
UPDATE: SF Weekly has posted some other views after reviewing more of the video released by the SFMTA. It’s too bad that aging pickup (Toyota?) didn’t have the latest ABS and airbags.
UPDATE: Additional views are here.
UPDATE: From the SFAppeal comes this spirited defense of the MUNI driver. Obviously, the MUNI driver rolled through the stop sign but that didn’t cause the collision. You know, maybe the MUNI driver ran a red light the day before or rolled through a stop sign at the previous intersection – you know, maybe he did something illegal before the accident, but that didn’t cause this particular accident. This collision was caused by the pickup driver.
The MUNI driver was in way too much of a hurry so he needs some kind of attitude adjustment, but the pickup driver will not be able to pin blame on the MUNI driver, no way Jose.
*That kind of behavior is generally tolerated from cyclists in San Francisco, but definitely not from drivers.
