Years before the shuttle bus debate gripped San Francisco, UCSF was under fire for alleged driver negligence in at least one bus crash. Now here we are three years later and, according to KRON4's Stanley Roberts, their drivers still aren't following the rules of the road.
It was 2011 when a UCSF shuttle bus driver allegedly ran a red light at Octavia and Oak, causing a collision that killed one passenger. The driver, who'd been involved in two previous crashes, was charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.
Though at the time, UCSF was very vocal regarding changing policies and practices at the time of that fatal collision, Roberts reports that many of the the medical center's shuttle drivers are ignoring California's law requiring all bus drivers to come to a complete stop stop at railroad crossings.
According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles:
Buses carrying passengers, motortrucks transporting employees, school buses, and vehicles carrying flammable materials, farm labor vehicles carrying passengers, commercial motor vehicles carrying chlorine, commercial motor vehicles requiring markings or placards according to federal regulations, cargo tank motor vehicles transporting a commodity that at time of loading had a temperature above its flashpoint, and cargo tankers whether loaded or empty must stop less than 50 feet but more than 15 feet from the nearest rail before proceeding, unless otherwise directed by a traffic officer or traffic control device.
The back of every UCSF bus reads "This bus stops at all railroad crossings."
But, apparently, they don't, as Roberts reports — some may slow, or turn on their hazard lights, but even near a blind curve that makes it difficult for the operator of a train to see what's coming, they apparently blow on through.
See for yourself: