A new report from SFMTA shows that serious collisions rose 8% during the first half of 2026, putting the city further behind its longstanding Vision Zero goal.
San Francisco's goal of eliminating traffic deaths continues to move in the wrong direction, with new SFMTA data showing fatal and severe injury crashes climbed during the first half of 2026 despite an overall decline in injury collisions, as ABC 7 reports.
According to Streetsblog SF, 100 fatal or severe crashes were recorded in the city during the first six months of the year, up from 96 during the same period in 2025 and higher than the 92 recorded in 2014, when San Francisco launched its Vision Zero initiative.
Walk SF says 12 pedestrians have been killed so far this year, compared with nine at the same point last year, prompting renewed calls for City Hall to accelerate street safety improvements.
“This is just more evidence that our city leaders need to take traffic safety incredibly seriously,” Walk SF's Marta Lindsey tells ABC 7.
While the report found speeding has dropped 79% at locations equipped with automated speed cameras since the program launched last year, safety advocates say the cameras are installed at only 33 locations and want the program expanded. SFMTA said it is continuing to invest in street safety projects and identify additional locations for improvements, calling every serious injury and death "one too many."
Doctors at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center say they're also seeing a steady stream of patients injured while riding e-scooters and e-bikes, many without helmets — this was something that was reported in particular on the night of July 4th, when many were taking scooters around the city. Chief of emergency medicine Christopher Colwell said severe head, facial, and internal injuries are common, with some riders requiring extensive reconstructive surgery after crashing.
Streetsblog attributes the city's larger traffic safety problem to the city’s scaling back or delaying several major safety projects, citing canceled protected bike lanes on Market Street, the decision not to ban right turns on red, delays to the Valencia Street bikeway, and watered-down safety improvements elsewhere while Mayor Daniel Lurie opened Market Street to cars.
SFMTA is scheduled to present the report to the Board of Supervisors' Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee Thursday.
Related: Marina Residents Demand Safety Improvements After Driver Strikes Nanny, Child Near Park
Image: SFMTA
