ny mattress discounters. mattress discounters good deed dogs helping dogs help people ♪ welcome "beyond the headlines, an this is about safety on the roadways, especially for pestrians and bicyclists. we know too many local residents have been killed or injured in bicycle-related incidents. we have a story filed in april about the city worst location for pedestrian accidents and fatalities venice avenue between market street and gary. >> reporter: crossing van nuys avenue on foot is a dangerous gamef beat the clock, no time to wait. >> dangerous to walk because of the traffic, you know, so people have to watch otherwise they lose their lives.

>> reporter: this year, seven pedestrians lost lives in san francisco, four killed, including the person seenon this surveillance video moments before getting strucby a car. >> we know the streets were designed not for pedestrian safety or anone's safety. >> reporter: pedtrian advocate, nicole snider, says these streets were designed for cars, not peole in mind. they hope this will send a message. >> collisions are preventful. they are not accidents. they e preventful things. >> reporter: she supports the vision 0 plan to eliminate pederian deaths in the next ten years through enforcement and redesign ofrafficot spots. >> a b truck just barely ssed me, and it is scary. >> reporter: he says pedestrian deaths will keep happening as long as cars keep rolling. >> there's absolutely nothing they can do about it. it's a car culture. people are going to die, simple

as that. > reporter: police know the crosswalk clock is ticking to save live, but they will try. >> when we travel, we are distracted or hurrying to get to an appointment, but we all have to take responsibility when an accident occurred. joining me now is ed risk, irector of transportation for the san francisco municipal transportaon agency. you have a huge responsibility. >> yeah, we have a lot we are responsible for. the snmpa is responsible for the transportation in the city including transportatin planning, engineering, parking and traffic management, bicyc and pedestrian safety, regulate theaxi industry, and, of course, the m urgsuni system. >> that's a big, big job. there's 2 1 pedestrian fatalities in 2013, that's a ix-year high. you have a plan to combathat called vision zero.

>> yeah, 21 people died last year trying to walk in the streets of san francisco. that's n something we should tolerate in a city like ours. vision zero has the goal to eliminate traffic fatalities in san francisco in the next ten years, and that's something i do think is achievable. it'll take a lot of work, a lot of education, and enforcement, but takes redesign of the streets. we'll focus in allhe areas, but really redesignin the streets to makehem safe for all road users whether you a walking, driving, on a bike, or riding the bus. >> you have to coordinate with a lot of agencies to make that happen. >> we do. we've been working cloly with the department of public health and police department to really understandwhere the accidents or the collisions, i should say, are happening, why they are happening, and then understanding what interventions, what physical design changes that wecan make in the streets to make the likelihood of them happening in the future much less likely. >> yeah, iust -- when that bicyclist was saying people are

going to die, that's something that we don't even wanto think about. you want to stop that. >> i think if we don't do something different, i think he's right. >> yeah. >> we are committed as a city from the mayor to the boar of supervisors to my board of directors and many people i speak to in the public who are absolute committed to doing something different, to redesigng our streets, to takg the counsel that you gave that we have a responsibility to act more responsibly when we're out in the public's right of wa and make sure the laws are enforced. redesigning the streets are a part of that, and that's the main thing w are driving towards. >> that's huge. how do you think people will respond to this? will you get the response you need? >> i think san francisco voters have a good track record understanding ofeed to invest in our infrastructure whethe it's libraries, parks, or police station. the voters have understo the need, i think a lot of people are alarmed by the fact that people are dying in the streets. i don't think anyonements that to happen. i'm confent that with the right education that we'll get

goodupport in november and make changes in our streets to make it sar for everybody. >> well, what you are doing is very amtious and you have tsa's be nice, look fwitwice, de like your mom's changes people's behavior? >> w can't rule out everybody's behavior, we have enforcement, police stepped up enforcement, education, and awareness getting people to think of their responsibility when out in the reets. the distraction we see from the mobile devices people have is not helpful so it's our hop these public service announcements remind people they have a sponsibility, particularly if they are operatin a motor vehicle to ensure ty and everybody else out there remain safe. >> good luck with the campgn. we'll do our part to help you. >> thank you very much. >> all right. we have to take a short break, but when we come back, wll hear from a local famyho is

coping with a deadly commission. stay with us. coping with a deadly commission. stay with us. we'll be rights bac

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and bicyists. we reported a somber breaking news story about a devastating accident the morning of may 23rd, 2013, a bicyclist and uck collided. the cyclist pronounced dead at the scene. 21-year-old dylan mitchell was the cyclist, and his family is here now to talk about the young man whose life was tragically cut short, and visiting th us from claon is julie minutchell, his mom, and his brotrs. julia, starting with you. you to you told me before we staed the segment,your son just moved there and started a new job. he rode his bicyce. he was riding it to work? >> he got into the electrical apprentichip program. he had beenin it for three months and was tired of the commute, so he h moved to san

francisco a week before, and was riding his bicycle to work. >> riding a bicycle ner had a problem before for him, right? >> no. he used to ride his bike in clayton to work too. >> tell me what you remember about your brother? >> he was always really nice, and, yeah, his personalit was great, always fun. >> dusty, what do you rememer about your brother? any stories you want to share with us? >> he was a great athlete. he took m to wrestling practe when i was 4th grade and he was in high school. he was just really fun. >> uh-huh, and, robt? >> always happy, outgoing, and talked to everybody. just a really fun person. he always wanted to have fun. >> so he was a good guy? >> yeah. >> i s asking whether who was the biggest problem in the family, andou all pointed at each other. julie, what are some of your fond memories about your son?

>> he w just always positive. idon't think i've ever known anyone as positive as him. he was an inspiraon. i mean, in fact, he receid the most inspirtional kid when he was in high school. he t an award for that. he was always involved in the community. he di coaching. he was a camp counselor for outdoor ed for both of the boys, dusty and robert,hen they went to outdoor ed. he just always wanted to help people. >> how have you been able to get through this year? >> it's been pretty torturous. if it was not for all the community that we live in that' been extremely supportive, i don't know how i would have tten through this. i've al started a mom's grief

group with just some of the her moms in my town that i know have lost children around dylan's age too. >> jie, you said your son was an expert bicyclist, very skilled and very safety aware. aler so -- and thenyou say -- hear about an accident like that, you analyze the details. >> i think that there needs to be changes inhe city to make things safer in that that's what would have made a difference. >> and you're part of a campaign to make that happen. >> yes. >> tell me about that. vision zero? >> yeah, vision zero, which is to elinate bicycle and pederian deaths to 0 basically in the nex ten years. >> uh-huh, yeah. have you noticed that you have changed your situational awreness, i guess you could call it, yourself? >> yeah, definitely. i'm super careful now before i make a turn, just always

watching out for bicyclists and people crossing the street, and always, like, i lo three times before making a turn. yeah. >> because i think that would have saved dylan life. >> mateo doou do anything differently because of what happened to your brother? do you make changes in a crosswalk o ride your bicycle? >> yeah, i always look bothays really good before i start walking. >> i want people to know you have taken this horrible trady, your whole family has, and really done something wonderful to help oer families. i want to commend you all on that. >> thank you. >> and what would your meage be to folks t there watching you today? >> i just want people to look, pay attention what they are doing while they are driving so that another family doesn't have to go through the devastation we had to go through. >> good advicadvice. mateo? >> i want drivers to be, like,

more safe, more careful. >> i'm going to go down the line here. >> try not to text and drive. >> very important message, i see peopledoing that, grownups too, textingand driving, good advice. >> people to be more careful when driving and pay attention to everything at's around them. >> uh-huh, thank you so much for being hertoday. we do have to take a break right now. when we come back, we're going to learn about the go work being done to make our streets

welcome back, talking about our street and roadways becoming more safe for pedestrians and biclists. joining us now in the studio is the cmmander from the san francisco police department special operations bureau meaning you handle transit-related issues, and sheryl brinkman, vice chairman of the board with san francisco municipal transportation agency. there's aampaign to create safer streets for traveling, and i know it's imptant as a driver and as a pedesian, but why is it so important the sfpd

to do th? >> this is way we do. we're in the business of providingervice and protection to our communities, and we want to make certai that an issue that is obviously in front of us, that bei pedestrian and bicycling safety and roadway safety in general is something that we are focusing all of our resources on. > unfortunately, we heartoo many times when pedestrians are at the losing ends of accidents and bicyclists as well. >> it's a nature of the beast. pedestrians and bicyclists will always come short when it comes to any type of collision with a motor vehicle, and sos a result, our focus is on addressing the behaviors of the most problematic when it comes to vehicle collisions. >> all right. sheryl, you have a campaig called be nice, ok twice. love the name. it's easy to remember, right? >> exactly >> that just reminds everybod all of us, and i catch mylf slowing down, give myself extra time now to get to work because i worry i don't want to be one

of the folks who hurt somebody. >> you don't. no drer and nobody leaves the housein the morning thinking i'm going to get involved in an accidt, hurt someone, or be hurt. that campaign and the new one coming out, drive if your mother's in the csswalk. i like that a lot. remind everybody no matter what the mode, and bicyclists as well, bike as if that's your grandther crossi the street, like that's your mother, someon you love. every out there on thetreets loves someone and has someone who loves them. let's not be the person who causes grief and injury to somebo else. >> you know, when i see people who just appear to be stepping into the so en is it correct tostop? >>hen the light -- the green hand is presented to the pedestrian, they can enter the crosswalk. but if the lit turns to red, they can't enter the crosswalk. if they are not already in the crosswalk, the countdown is more so for the people in the crosswalk telling them how much time they have to get to the other side.

it's not an indicator for a person who is on the sidewalk to try to rush across the street with four seconds left. >> and a cup of coffee, right? sheryl, i don't know how you feel about this, you rode your bikehere. a bike share. >> yeah, i rode a bike share from work. there's rules for every mode of travel. we have rules for cars, bicyclists, pedestrians, best case scenario, we follow the rule and we're all safe. worst ce, nobody follows, and that happens in a lot of cities. we have to make sure you can accomdate somebody else's mistake oromebody else's lapse of attention. if you're going more slowly in a car, more slowly on a bike, paying attention as a pedestrian, everybody has a chnce to recover from that era. the bus i was on is morning, a car stopped right in front of her to let a passenger out. thankfully, you know, the mark on market street, t driver

paid attention, she stopped. the pmassengers were holding on. it was fine, just slow down and think of the consequences of driving too fast, the conquences of running a stop sign, stping off the curb not paying attentn. if we slow down and do that, we'll bring the injury rate down as long as better street engineer and design and enforcement. >> i wanto ask about enforcement. i see people who completely ignore all the rules, and i a bicycle fan, but i see bicyclists who try to cut in front ome as i try to make a right turn or run the light. do you do theenforcement a lot now? is it getting tougher? > we have increased enforcent. in fact, this year, we saw 55% increase in the number of citations ourfficers issued. we can't be everywhere so focus has to be on the behaviors that are most problematic as it

relatin relates to the collisions, and you talk about those rning red lights, speeding, not yielding toedestrians in crosswalks or yieldinin left turns, distracted dving, driving with your ear buds in the ear. >> because of this enforccement you this a 10% reduction of fatalities in the first quarter. that's great. >> it isgood. >> it's th beginning, right. >> there's so much to do with engineeng to make our streeter safer, narrower lanesmean slower speeds, shorter crossing distance so pedestrians are not in the roadway as long, and protecd bicycle lanes keeps the modes separated to feel safer riding a bicycle. aar driver knows where the cyclst will be, the pedestrian can s the car and the car the pedestrian. from the point of the cyclist, the more people on bikes, the more safe it is for all the cyclist, and the more

middle-aged laes like me on bicycl, the more difficult it will be for a youngr, more aggreive breed of cyclist to do what they sometimes like to do. if there's five of me in t bike lane ahead of them, they don't have the aid and abbility throh the crosswalk. >> thank you for being

welcome ck to "beyond the headlines," and we've been talking about safety asures for pedestrians and bicyclists on the roadways, but it's also important t remember caution around our raioad tracks. a heart brokenast bay mother has been making a pblic plea for young people to take tir focus off their phones and pay more attention to their surroundings. britney silvo ws killed by an amtrack teen may. the family says she was texting and listening music whenthe accident happened. >> she w listening to music, both head pones in. >> cynthia says what she thinks happened to her daughter, britney, as e teen walk across the train tracks before 6:00 p.m. mondanight. >> oki ining down like this, cat see the arms down behind her, had the hephones in, and she

coul't hear the train coming. >> 18-year-old britney silva died instantly when the train hit her at high speed. apparently because ofhe ear buds, she did not hear a witness yell for her to get out of the way. >> i tell all of you young ones out there, when you walk down the street and you got your hdphones on, keep one in and one out soyou can hear the world around u. >> she was a senior at the high school set too to the prom this weekend and graduate in june. >> she was always so nice and compmenting people all the time, you know what i mean? so outgoing and loving. this is such a tragic thing that happened to someone who is so specl. >> students signed a big sheet of paper to britney's family inclung her mother and 11-year-old siste >> like, everyone loved her. everyone knew her. she wou always dance, always. she was always giving me great

advice. >> wow. a powerful and sad story. join uing us a khristine dun, an informatio officer for the transportation authority. now, the story that we just watched, christine, but cal train running the peninsula on commur rail and you have a big area to cover. >> yeah, that'sright, cheryl. we go fro san francisco to san jose. it's about 50 miles. we go through number of highway pop pew laulated areas, through downtown and 50ailroad crossings. mething people need to be very aware of the train. we opete 92 trains a day, and it's something people need tbe aware of and careful with on th railroad tracks. >> the temptation to walk on th tracks, they are quieter these days, and with the ear buds, you

will not here . >> we have operate a puspull system so the locomotive is on the southernost end of the train, and if the train is going north, you will not hear the train until it's rig on top of you. >> we ha a video, an example of the pedestrian gate. the trains go by fast, so as we watch the video, i want to kp talking about the fact that these -- the train arm comes down for jus a short amount of time. >> right. we are authorized by the feral railroad administration to operate our trains at 79 miles per hour. they do go that fa. if a train is not scheduled to stop at a station, it could be going as fast as 7 miles per hour. the train gates come dn 29 seconds before the train enters the crossing. >> doesn't seem like a ng time, and folks try to bea that. i just don't understand it. >> it's really a foolish thing to do. there's nothing more imptant than your own life, and it takes minutes for the train to pass. we have pestrian gates at all

the crossings, wait behind the gates until the train has passed. >> u offer a free safety education program. >> yes. cal train's a member of operation lifesaver, a national rail safety organization, and we offer free safety programs. we give them to all ages, to all gros, and we encourage people to come and call us and sn up to get a safety presentation. we'd be happy to talk about it. >> we have 20 seconds left. you finished raising the tracks for safety. > yeah, that's in san bruno, elevating the train tracks above the tee street crossings in the city o san bruno, a tremendous safety improvement for t city. >> thank you so much for your education. we posted all the suff on our website for folks athome. appreciate you being here. thank you for having us. >> we do have to endhe program right now because we've run out of time, but we have more information about today's program so just go to our website, abc 7news.com/community

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st going to drop her on the couch. ( yawns ) okay. i'll pick her up tomorrow. you're not driving home until you have another cup of coffee. hey, don't worry about whispering. she slept through everything. jet engines, turbulence, bipolar flight attendants. i hate her so much. i hate you!