The Department of Public Health reported that roughly 50% of all those injured and admitted to San Francisco General Hospital were related to a car accident.
The report analyzed more than 4,000 patient injuries between 2012 and 2014. These patients totaled more than $30 million each year in medical treatment. 44% of those injured were pedestrians struck by a motorist. 22% of those injured were drivers and passengers in vehicles. Cars striking Motorcyclists and bicyclists each consisted of close to 17% of those injured. The information alarmed the Department of Public Health in addition to comparing the study with the increase in car-related fatalities in 2016.
Vision Zero Could Be the Solution
Advocates for Vision Zero (San Francisco’s road safety policy) are using the report as further proof of the need for San Francisco to prioritize pedestrian safety and rework city streets. In particular, Vision Zero has cited Market Street for the unreasonably high number of car accidents each year. Vision Zero has advocated for adding bicycle lanes, speed bumps, improved highway on- and off-ramps, and other safety options to improve road safety in San Francisco.
Vision Zero’s core belief is that all car accidents are preventable with attentive drivers and proper street layout. Vision Zero’s goal is to achieve zero fatality from car accidents by 2024.
For more information about car accident statistics in San Francisco, SFist has published a full article here. For legal representation after a car accident injury, you can contact Rouda Feder Tietjen & McGuinn and our firm’s San Francisco personal injury lawyers.